Blatter: Let's play football in summer
The Major League Soccer (MLS) season in America runs from April to November
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Monday, 04, Dec 2006 09:15
Outspoken Fifa president Sepp Blatter wants European leagues to switch to playing in the summer.
Blatter, 70, has proposed to the clubs that most of the league games be played between November and February.
The radical proposal would give clubs a longer winter break that could be used for international qualifiers.
Blatter said he had received support for the idea.
"I've just proposed to the clubs: play through the summer," Blatter told Germany's Kicker magazine.
"This would leave enough time for players to recover and there could be blocks of three weeks of national teams' qualifying games in winter.
"This idea is supported by big European clubs."
Blatter added that he wants to introduce the '6-plus-5' formula, with each club forced to field six home based players and five foreigners.
"First, it will bring a higher identification between clubs and fans," Blatter said.
"Second, it would raise the opportunities for [young] talents. And third, the clubs' finances would benefit if they take players from their own schools."
The now-defunct 'silver goal' rule, booking players who take their shirt off while celebrating, and making the World Cup winners have to qualify have been among the changes made by Blatter since becoming president of the world governing body in 1998.