Spurs vs Newcastle… in China?

Wait, I thought the Premier League’s moneygrabbing 39th game was pretty much dead and buried. The idea has got the middle finger from the international football community and a big thumbs down from FIFA. So why are Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur making arrangements to try out the whole Premier League teams abroad thing by having a high profile friendly in Beijing in the run up to the 2008 Olympics?

The answer, of course, is money. Newcastle and Spurs are both teams with passionate English followings, but without the same global market reach as the likes of Manchester United. So a good showing in Beijing would do wonders for their profile in Asia.

Though I’m still convinced the 39th game is a horrible idea, it’s also true that foreign Premier League fans who would love to see teams play in their country. So while messing with the Premier League calendar looks like a no-go, that shouldn’t stop clubs from entertaining foreign fans with high profile friendlies.

Perhaps Premier League teams could set up money-laden foreign mini-tournaments where they can play each other with something at stake, but leave the actual Premier League unmolested. So rather than seeing this potential Newcastle vs Spurs international game as a practice for Game 39 and the beginning of the end of football as we know it, I’m going to go glass is half-full and see this as the beginnings of a realistic compromise.

Category: English Premier League

Tags: 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China, English Premier League, EPL, Game 39, Newcastle, Premiership, Spurs, Tottenham

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