There was a time, not so long ago, when football clubs were the heart of the community. Places where local people escaped to on a Saturday afternoon to support their heroes. Places where the aim was to win trophies and make the city proud and places where young peoples’ dreams were made.

If the Premier League go ahead with their plans to play games around the world, it will signify the end of football as we have known it. Once they have started they won’t stop. One game a year will become two, then three, then four.

Premier League clubs will bank as much as £5m each for playing an extra round of fixtures in foreign cities but they risk losing something much greater: the loyalty of their home support. It’s all very well for the teams at the top, but America loves winners and if, for example, Arsenal find themselves outside the top four, any support they had developed in America would quickly disappear.

'Recent studies have shown that Premier League audiences are getting older as younger fans are being priced out of the game'


Recent studies have shown that Premier League audiences are getting older as younger fans are being priced out of the game. Atmospheres are worse and there is no community connection. Moving the games abroad will further alienate young people, meaning the next generation of supporters won’t be watching live football. It’s not sustainable. If people aren’t watching football from a young age they won’t be playing it, either. We are becoming the "watch it on Sky, play it on the Playstation" nation. We will have the greatest global club brands but the worst national players.

Another question that arises is where will this extra money go? Will it be used to lower ticket prices, reduce the cost of replica shirts and filter its way through to the grass roots? Or maybe it will go into the bank accounts of the businessmen buying up the clubs to take advantage of this global brand.

This week we have heard the usual moaning from club managers that players are playing too many games and each year we hear them demand a winter break. However, when extra revenue is involved it’s a different story. More games are needed, not less.

Rafa Benitez said: “We should not have had international friendlies this week. We have lost [Fernando] Torres, and [Javier] Mascherano is not due back until Friday after playing for Argentina in Los Angeles. It is a busy period for the clubs so it is not fair."

What is really not fair is ripping the heart and soul out of football. American-owned Liverpool may be taking on Thai-owned Manchester City in Dubai before we know it. One man who has destroyed a club with an illustrious history playing against one who is a wanted alleged criminal in an area where human-rights violations are swept under an expensive carpet. This is what football is becoming: no morals, no loyalty and no conscience.

What are your views on the new proposal? Good the the game or good for the money moguls? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.