Brown: Cut ticket prices
Mr Brown believes the Premier League is more entertaining than the Italian and Spanish league
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Friday, 08, Feb 2008 09:20
Prime minister Gordon Brown has urged the Premier League to use the money earned from foreign matches to slash ticket prices.
A debate has erupted after all 20 clubs agreed at a meeting yesterday to consider extending the season to 39 games.
The ten extra games would be played at five different venues, with cities bidding for the right to stage them.
According to reports, the extra matches would be decided by a draw but the top five teams could be seeded to avoid playing each other.
Supporters' groups have slammed the radical proposal, claiming staging matches abroad would alienate clubs' hardcore fans.
Mr Brown said Premier League clubs have to listen to their fans before considering playing matches abroad.
"It's important to recognise that the money has to go back into the game," Mr Brown told the BBC in an interview to be broadcast tomorrow.
"I have just come back from China and India and the support for the Premier League and people watching matches there is just incredible.
"Now if that is money that is going back into football, and if that is helping keep the price of tickets down in England, and if that means that more fans get more opportunities of going to matches as a result of that at a cheaper price, then that would be something that I think people would want to take into account.
"There is no doubt about the worldwide interest in the Premier League," he finished.
"There is no doubt that that's good for football because it gets more money into the game in England."