English Premier league expansion plan condemned

A proposal by the English Premier League to stage 10 games in various cities around the world has been widely condemned by football administrators and associations.

The Guardian reports that the President of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohammed bin Hammam, has firmly rejected the idea of the Premier League staging games in Asia.
The Premier League last week announced a controversial plan to play an extra 'international round' of matches in January from the 2010-11 season, extending the campaign to 39 games, and several cities in Asia have been proposed as possible destinations. Mr Mohammed, however, was unequivocal in his stance that he would not endorse a proposal which was detrimental to Asian domestic leagues.
"My recommendation to the AFC executive committee would be to reject any initiatives of this nature," he said. "And we would urge the AFC member associations to protect their own national leagues and clubs within their territories.
"With relation to the overall principle, it is my belief that it is not a good idea to organise domestic leagues in territories other than their own."
The South Korean FA expressed its reservations - Seoul has been mooted as a possible venue for one of the matches - and yesterday the Japanese FA was equally unimpressed with the idea. The Vice-President of the Japanese FA, Junji Ogura, said: "We are, in principle, opposed to having their [Premier League] games in Japan as we have to protect our league and clubs. In Japan, we don't allow anyone to play a match that involves only foreign clubs and no Japanese clubs."
Though the proposals have had guarded, and rather limited, support from the Middle East and the United States, Asia appears to be strongly against the plans.
"I always welcome the exchange of knowledge and expertise between foreign football associations and clubs, and support matches organised between AFC and other confederations which benefit the development of our clubs here in Asia," said Mr Mohammed. "But at the present time, I can't see the wisdom in the proposed plans."
The AFC does have previous experience when it comes to standing up to the power of the Premier League. Last summer the association forced Manchester United to cancel a proposed friendly in Malaysia because of a clash with the Asian Cup, which the country was co-hosting.