Blatter's Beijing bulletin
The Premier League's controversial 39th-game idea is back, but with a difference. It has discussed a plan with Mohammed Bin Hammam, the President of the Asian Football Confederation, for playing a couple of Carling Cup matches in Asia.
Hammam may not be against it but Sepp Blatter, president of Fifa, who earlier this year shot down the original 39th-game plan for league matches to be played overseas, still thinks it is a bad idea.
Though the Football League has denied that there are plans to play any Carling Cup games abroad, a Premier League spokesman confirmed it has been in discussions with other football federations about holding games in other parts of the world, and that a number of options are under consideration.
Blatter sees Fifa in confrontation with the Premier League on this issue. While he acknowledges that the Premier League has the world's best players and is the richest and best run league in the world, he feels as a rich organisation it should show solidarity, meaning have more of a social conscience.
The Premier League's influence in Asia particularly, concerns Blatter. English is the second language of the continent and the constant televising of league matches makes Blatter feel that the domination of English football is like the return of the British Empire. The impact of Premier League matches on Asian football, he feels, has not been good.
For its part, the Premier League feels its growth has mirrored that of other organisations such as the Football Association, the Football League and indeed Fifa itself. It also sees itself as a role model for other leagues, happy to advise on issues such as best practice, administration, and broadcast rights.
Responding to Blatter's latest claims, a spokesman said the body does its best to promote the game across the world and as such believes it can only be good for football.
I was speaking to Blatter at Fifa's temporary headquarters in a Beijing hotel, where he is overseeing the Olympic football tournament. You can watch the whole interview here:
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Football at the Olympics has always had a curious role. Although Olympic football predates the World Cup by almost 30 years, Blatter is clear that in terms of Fifa rankings it comes fourth after the World Cup, the Under-20 World Cup and even the Women's World Cup.
China has seen crowds return to Olympic football, the best since Atlanta in 1996 and four times that of Athens. But then, as Blatter admitted, in Europe Olympic football never attracts big crowds, although he hopes London 2012 will be different.
There will, of course, be a British football team in the 2012 Olympic tournament, although the Scots, Welsh and the Northern Irish remain resolutely opposed to any British team.
They are fearful it will damage Britain's special status within Fifa. This includes having four teams and a Fifa vice-president.
Blatter's advice is arguing in public on this issue does not help and should stop. All it is doing, he told me, is alerting those in Fifa who do not like this special British status and would like Britain to be like other countries with just one football team.
He says the more talk there is of whether there should be a British team for 2012, the more damage it may be to Britain's Fifa position.
Blatter sees no problem in a team representing Britain, which could well be an English team calling itself British. As he put it when he heard Britain had a curling team in the Winter Olympics he could not believe it, then discovered it was a Scottish team calling itself British. So why not the same for football in 2012?
By the time a British team of whatever nature takes the field in 2012 Blatter and his fellow Fifa executives will have decided who will host the 2018, and 2022 World Cups.
He played the perfect politician when I asked him about England's chances for 2018, saying, as he put it, "Her Majesty's gracious government had made some friendly and positive moves towards Fifa".
He did point out that a number of countries would be competing: a joint Belgium-Holland bid, Russia and Spain from Europe. The other countries round the world including possibly China, Australia, Japan, Mexico and USA.
Uefa is worried that the European vote could become split and this would damage the continent's chances but Blatter is opposed to any preliminary competition to whittle it down to one.
Next week when Prime Minister Gordon Brown comes to Beijing, he will meet Blatter. Brown has invited Blatter to a reception at the British Embassy and Blatter expects to be taken to a quiet embassy corner and lobbied about 2018.
It would be interesting to be a fly on the embassy wall during that conversation.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~57~RS~)
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The curling team was not 'a Scottish team calling itself British'. They were British because Scotland is part of Great Britain.
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Interesting article as ever, but yet more crazy ideas concerning the 39th game. Currently, top sides put out reserve sides in the Carling Cup and they are the only ones who would attract an interest abroad. So the 39th game would be a meaningless competition in which the best players do not play - not a great advertisement for the Premier League.
If the top four clubs do not put out their first team for a game at Southend, how likely are they to send their best performers to Asia or America for a Carling Cup tie?
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"the Scots and the Northern Irish remain resolutely opposed to any British team."
And the Welsh too.....or is Mihir Bhose including Wales as part of England?
It is comments like this one and that about the curling that that make these articles stink of bad, lazy journalism.
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Also - it wasn't the Scottish team. A selection process was undertaken involving all competitors from the UK and the victorious competitors happened to come from Scotland. The same has happened in favour of England with regards to hockey.
What is being proposed is that the English team is sent without any form of selection process being undertaken which is unbelievable. Talk about cronyism.
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Why is this blog pre-moderated whereas others, e.g. Phil McNulty, are not?
Also, what takes so long to moderate a comment and if a comment is deemed not suitable, will the poster be informed, with reasons?
Thank you
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Talking of bad journalism, does this sentence by Bose make good reading?
"Blatter's advice is arguing in public on this issue does not help and should stop."
Bose's omission of Wales' opposition is also very poor, and WFA have backed Scotland's stance from the start of this debate in 2005, as reported on this website.
Why did Mr Bose not challenge Blatter about the reference to the British/Scottish curling team, as this is such a poor analogy?
The relative curling associations were not at risk by competing at Olympic level for one.
The top players in the UK in 2002 were all Scottish, and so were picked as a result of this, not because other British players were excluded. It was a sport more popular there, as there were no curling rinks elsewhere in the UK at the time.
The teams are much smaller (only 5 squad players), so statistically more likely to come from just one country.
As a result of the 2002 success, there are more people playing the game now in the UK, and some promising youngsters developing in England, and we will probably field a greater mix of home nation players in the coming years.
I found all this information on the BBC website, and as Bose is the BBC's Sports Editor, I am amazed that he wasn't aware of most of these points.
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darobsta - actually, it's only Blatter who's suggested he wouldn't mind if it was an all-English team and he hasn't said anything about how they would be selected.
Furthermore, if the SFA get their way, they would ban Scottish players from taking part, so the FA would be left with no alternative.
Mr BlueBurns - I think this is a pre-moderated blog as it is from the BBC News "The Reporters" series of blogs rather than one of the BBC Sports ones.
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Televised premier league games already impact negatively the development of grassroots football in Asia - this 39th game idea is the last thing we need.
The Olympics seems to be stoking a lot of jingoism.
What we really need is grassroots sports taken to another level - cross-national games between ordinary folks - teachers, postman, sales people, students. How much good would it do the world if regular football games could be played between say, Americans, and mainland Chinese. If that could be done the former could perhaps stop thinking of other people as axis of evil candidates that need to be put down.
The windfall from reduced spending on defense that the end of the Cold War was supposed to bring would do the US, and the entire world a whole lot of good.
Turning swords into ploughshares - is that too Buddhist a thought to entertain?
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Pantryboy and Harry_Palmer69,
Appropriate reference to the Welsh opposition has been added in accordingly.
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As an American who's firmly a Prem fan and Prem follower, I welcome anything that will give me a chance, however occasional, to watch a game. I just got back from a UK vacation and managed to get tickets to the Community Shield, and it was an electric, memorable experience. I'd love to see more games. I pay money for access to TV channels that carry the Prem, I wear the colors on big days, and I root for the teams I like just like any other fan. I'd like to get the opportunity to catch a game every once in a while.
The fact of the matter is, the Prem is a global brand. Global fans deserve some of the fun too.
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Team GB! Team GB!
All this segregation and seperatism is something for history that fed conflict.
We're united now, living in peace. Can't we just get along for a couple of 90mins to actually try and win some gold medals?
Also, Prem League is the new FIFA! Poor Blatter. Understand his concerns though, Prem's influence is weakening and undermining local leagues which isn't a good thing for football. They've already ruined my evening kickabouts.
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The 39th game is still a likely non-starter. However, a Premier League Cup played abroad is a different matter. A preliminary round to eliminate four teams, last-16, Q-final, S-final, final - nineteen games, which could be shared around eight venues in, for example, the Far East, maximum five games for the finalists, which could be fitted in at this time of the year. With television coverage, a likely money-spinner which would broaden the commercial basees of Premier League clubs. There is not much Fifa or Uefa could do to stop it.
Talk of a British team in 2012 is, at the moment, hypothetical hot air. However, as the time gets nearer and players in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland wake up to the possibility of Olympic competition, then things will change. Players will not be dictated to by officials, and will move to English clubs to make themselves eligible.
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Sweetalkingguy
Players will not be dictated to by officials, and will move to English clubs to make themselves eligible.
If the Football Association of Wales, SFA and IFA decree that no player from these associations can play for Team GB 2012, they will not be able to take part, as they are holding their international registrations, i personall agree with all 3 associations as the risk involved to Wales and the other nations is that we could lose our national status as a football playing nation within FIFA , the risk is also very high for the English national team, if England want to play as Team GB in 2012 they can, as long as Wales,Scotland and N Ireland remain opposed i will be a happy man
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I feel at times that our seperate countries are not respected as different nations/cultures etc and thought of as 'the same thing' which is like us saying every country in Asia is all the same.
As for playing games abroad, why? It's the English game therefore to be played in England. I realise that people around the globe watch it but you can't just demand what a country has built over centuries of development to come to your doorstep. It's kind of the idea or tourism - you come to England for the English culture, one of which is Premier League Football.
You don't bring the Grand Canyon to the UK once a year to share 'the good stuff' do you?
Back on terms of the Olympics, most of us wouldn't have any passion behind a GB team as we would for our individual countries. Would be 'nice' to see us represented in the footy in some shape or form though. Maybe the 4 nations could have a pre-olympic tournament to decide who will represent GB?
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Many among us in India love EPL, Serie A, Primera Liga and the Bundesliga matches. Top teams with world class stars playing matches that have a bearing on the title or a spot in the prestigious CL will certainly be attracting audiences in many Asian countries.
Second string teams, reserves or probables for pure exhibition matches sans big stars will experience difficulties in causing ripples in Asian waters. Lovers of football will prefer to watch the real thing on the TV and one wonders if they would take pains to leave their homes.
Asians are choosers. Football is catching up in many Asian countries. India the sleeping giant is waking up atlast. Kolkata, Punjab, Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkhim and other Indian centers are making visible progress.
Mighty India has been dreaming big of late. The South Asian giants have already booked a place for the 2011 Asia Cup. In the last two years the national team has played around thirty international matches and have lost just two or three. Their coach, the renowned Bob Houghton has moulded the boys into a terrific unit.
The I-League too has been coming up well in India. In the inaugural year Dempo Sports Club of Goa withstood the challenge from mighty Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, JCT Punjab, Mahindra Utd, Sporting Clube de Goa, Churchill Bros and Air India to come out triumphant.
The Goan giants have been making waves in the Asian Club Football Championships too. Dempos scored some memorable away victories against powerful champion football clubs of the Middle East region and have entered the QFs of the ongoing competition. Things are changing fast in India as well. Good for the beautiful game.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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*amendment to post -
"IRB" not "RFU"
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All i can hope for is Blatter is no longer the president of fifa when voting takes place for the 2018 world cup. He is the most anti-english head of an international organisation i have ever seen. Whilst the fa, premier league and football league is not perfect by any means some balance in his comments over the last few years would be welcomed. He seems obssessed with criticising the english game at every opportunity. If the crowd problems in Italy were repeated in England he would be on every media platform advocating our removal from international competitions. The racist chants by Spanish fans are hit with an insignificant punishment and little comment by Blatter, yet he feels compelled to discuss the 'slave' like conditions of Ronaldo. Later claiming he was misunderstood despite having vast experience of the media. the sooner he goes the better it will be for England.
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British Football team is unecessary. Despite possible repercussions within FIFA the majority of UK football associations are against it. Therefore it should be a non starter. As ususal the English think they can dictate to the rest.
Football shouldn't even be an olympic sport.
As for the idiot running the olympics who says a British team would be medal contenders, I'd like to know how he came to this conclusion. No home nation has been close to winning an international tournament in decades and none of us qualified for the Euros.
As a Scot I also resent Blatter calling the UK a country. This is not the technically the case. A political entity yes but not a country. It is a union consisting of two countries: Scotland and England. Wales is a province of England and Northern Ireland is six counties in the Irish province of Ulster that happen to be under British rule and they are therefore British citizens. However the majority within each territory are unlikely to refer to themselves as British unless they are filling out their passport form. When was the last time you told someone when on holiday that you were from Britain? You say England or Scotland etc.
The game was invented in England and first played internationally between Scotland and England. For years we were the only two nations to play the game and therefore developed our own identities within the sport. These identities, passions and rivalries exist to this day and should not be compromised so some high and mighty lord can make a few quid. I along with the majority of Scotland, England, Wales and NI fans I imagine enjoy following their own nation and I doubt too many of us would show the same level of passion for a UK team. That's a UK team by the way not GB as we seem intent on calling it. GB does not include NI but then the article is written by a self obsessed BBC journalist so I don't really expect them to care. It also astounds me that the Olympic team is GB and not UK. Surely this excludes Northern Ireland as well.
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Never mind a football team not being fielded at the Olympics have we got any UK/GB footballers left to form a decent team?? Look how we couldnt qualify for Europe - lack of depth and dismal performances from our so called top players
Looking at all the recent signings it doesnt look like it we have many UK players left!! Football in the UK is getting extremely boring because of this in my humble opinion -
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Brown to meet Blatter........now that's something to worry about.
I recall Mr Brown (who thinks a ball is oval) appeared to be in favour of the "39th Game" a few months ago.
I smell an own goal in the making.
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Whats all this nonsense about him not mentioning Wales, here is the quote
"although the Scots, Welsh and the Northern Irish remain resolutely opposed to any British team."
WELSH, its like Wales but it refers to the people, get it?
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Ibleedblackandamber
HEAR HEAR!
Every time I read anything by Blatter he seems to be taking some kind of stance, however trivial against British, particularly English football.
Remember when Utd fans were stabbed in Rome and he still pointed the finger at the UK.
I think maybe he doesn't like the fact we have a vice president of Fifa.
Either way I vastly prefer Platini, he seems to be focused on a) Himself, and b) the glory of the game. At least you know what his game is.
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Good post about Indian football, and I like the idea of a pre olympic tournament to decide the representative, Unfortunately we would probably need to hold it the year before because the Euros are in the same year..........wait, maybe that wont matter ;-)
Either way it would be like the proposed Celtic cup but with something to play for, and I know the mighty Scots would lead the charge
OOOOhhh flower of Scoooo.............
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Mr Bose
Joseph Sepp Blatter admits English League and Cup Football is successful because it is ORGANIZED and then criticises it for being successful!
Other reasons why the English Premier League has GLOBAL APPEAL and is millions of miles ahead is because it has kept Joseph Sepp Blatter out and, I doubt the EPL's Advertisers, Sponsors and Television Companies will tolerate the rate of kleptomania that is 'part of the game' elsewhere.
Look at African and Asian 'football'. Both jokes have copious amounts of 'Blatter praise singers' and both are a total waste of time and money!
Stop allowing the Media to be abused by Football 'officials' who have nothing constructive to say.
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