League to debate overseas options

ENGLISH Premier League clubs are to be presented with several watered-down alternatives to the controversial "39th step" at their summer meeting today.

A number of different options including the infamous "international round" will be debated by the 20 clubs at their meeting in Leicester today and tomorrow.

However it looks likely that the original idea for each club to play a 39th league match in a foreign country will be abandoned in favour of a less controversial option.

Not even the clubs will know the details of the different options until the presentations start but it is thought one proposal for a Premier League-branded pre-season tournament that would be played by member clubs overseas will be presented to chairmen.

Unlike the 39th step, the alternative games would not be viewed as competitive fixtures but would still offer foreign fans the chance to watch live matches involving the likes of Manchester United taking on their Premier League opponents.

The league already have positive experiences from the Barclays Asia Trophy where a crowd of 40,000 in Hong Kong last July watched Portsmouth beat Liverpool on penalties.

It is believed the latest proposal would be to extend these branded friendly competitions to other hotspots of Premier League interest, such as the Middle East, South Africa and the USA.

The alternative format would provoke less opposition from the member clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool who were against the 39th step - not to mention FIFA, UEFA and the FA.

The original international round will still be on the agenda as a possibility at one end of the range of alternatives, and though the likes of Everton and Blackburn are strongly in favour due to the financial benefits, that looks increasingly unlikely to be pursued further.

One senior Premier League insider said: "Either the international round will be kept alive in a different way - and that looks most likely - or the clubs will kill it off completely."

The Premier League clubs are also set to outlaw third-party ownership of players to avoid future controversies such as the infamous Carlos Tevez transfer saga.

In future, clubs will have to buy out all third-party owners so that they own the players completely.