I was intrigued to read yesterday that the premiership was considering adding an extra game to the season and playing that game somewhere else in the world. By and large, the reaction to this idea has been pretty negative – people don’t like the extra game and the risk of burnout, they don’t like football becoming show business and the break with tradition, and they don’t like the commercialisation of the Premier League.
I partially disagree with this. I reckon, if you are a proper sports fan, you are a bit like a quasi-Imperialist – you want to spread the love around, so as others can share the joy you draw from your sport. I do remember once being quite moved by Ricky Ponting (not the most romantic of individuals) confirming that part of his role as Australian captain was spreading the “gospel of cricket” around the world. That is what the Premier League should be doing by playing abroad – but the logical implication of this is that teams would go and play in poor areas, charging little fee for entrance, so as they could reach out to those who might be most touched by the experience.
But, given their promise that each club will net £5 million from the scheme, I suspect teams will end up playing in front of wealthy elites across the world, and a glorious opportunity to reach out to people will be lost. What a shame.
[tags]football, sport[/tags]