Scudamore - PL is not greedy

Chief executive stands by plans but admits format needs rethink

Last updated: 10th May 2008

Richard Scudamore Premier League chief executive

Scudamore: Believes in plans

When everybody describes the Premier League as greedy it drives us all nuts. Let me tell you why.

Richard Scudamore
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Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has reaffirmed his desire to implement an 'international round' of fixtures, but admits an acceptable format still needs to be identified.

The proposal for each top-flight club to play an additional fixture in a foreign city has been met with opposition by members of The Football Association and Fifa.

However, Scudamore still firmly believes in the plans, and is sure it is a matter of time before the Premier League goes global.

"When everybody describes the Premier League as greedy it drives us all nuts. Let me tell you why," he said in the Daily Express.

Greed

"It's like sitting down to dinner with four people, out comes a pile of food, and we say we shall have it all, and there's none for anyone else.

"But that isn't how it is happening. We generate our own value through our own clubs and we're not taking anyone else's lunch.

"The FA has their own properties which they sell and do very nicely from, and so too do the Football League.

"They generate their income, and we're not taking any of their lunch.

"Instead, we actually gave away £124million this year alone, which is equal to the entire Football League turnover.

"There will be 400million in 207 countries watching the final shake-up this Sunday.

"They won't all be sitting down for the 90 minutes, but in some form, whether live, or the highlights, or their laptops, virtually every country imaginable will watch the final games.

"The idea that so many people are interested enough in our football, yes, it's a phenomenon all right, there is no other way to describe it.

Melting pot

"The Premier League are a unique proposition. Our strength is the aggregate of all our clubs, but it would be wrong to assume that there is no interest in the clubs outside the top four.

"It is a natural progression to take all our teams around the world. There is no doubt that there is scope to increase interest levels around the world.

"We need to find the right vehicle and format - and that is still in the melting pot."