James Porteous

Column | English Premier League chief still has ‘burning desire’ to play competitive games in Asia – and says China will be a football superpower ahead of schedule

Richard Scudamore says clubs would love to play a round of fixtures internationally, but admits furious reaction at home might mean it never happens

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Richard Scudamore, executive chairman of the English Premier League, speaks at a football social development conference in Hong Kong. He would love to bring the league’s games abroad, but accepts it is unlikely to happen any time soon. Photo: AFP

James Porteous

Published: 5:01pm, 20 Jul 2017Updated: 7:04pm, 22 Jul 2017

The English Premier League’s Asia Trophy, back in Hong Kong this week, is as close a taste to the ‘real thing’ that many fans on this side of the globe can get.

But with the amount of money sloshing around China’s sports industry, can it be long before actual Premier League games are played in Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai?

If it were up to the league’s executive chairman, Richard Scudamore, it would have happened long ago. He says his member clubs still want to play abroad, but a proposal to do so was lashed by media in 2014, as was a 2008 plan that a “39th game” of the season be played overseas.

“I still have the scars up and down my back,” he said of the fury with which the English media greeted the league’s proposal.

Hong Kong Liverpool fans got the chance to see their team in action in the Asia Trophy this week, but would love to see a ‘proper’ competitive game. Photo: Reuters

“Is there still a burning desire to do it? The clubs would like to,” he said in an interview with a small group of journalists in Hong Kong this week.