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AFC, FFA reject Premier League international round

Asia's highest-ranking soccer official opposes plans by England's Premier League to hold an "international round" each January from the 2010-2011 season.

Cities including Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong have been floated as potential venues for the international round.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam said his organization's priority was the promotion and protection of club competitions in the 46 member nations across the continent.

"I always welcome the exchange of knowledge and expertise between foreign football associations and clubs, and support matches organized between AFC and other Confederations which benefit the development of our clubs here in Asia, but I can't see the wisdom in the proposed [Premier League] plans," he said.

Bin Hammam said the principle of playing a full round of the Premier League abroad was wrong and he would recommend the AFC executive committee and member associations "reject any initiatives of this nature."

"With relation to the overall principle, it is my belief that it is not a good idea to organize domestic leagues in other territories other than their own," he said. "If this principle is accepted, then the Premier League must accept reciprocal arrangements within their own territory."

The Premier League is televised live in Asia and its leading clubs have a massive following in the region.

The wide popularity has led to an increase in the number of pre and post-season tours to Asia by some of Europe's biggest and most wealthy clubs.

Hammam has been critical of some of those tours in the past, describing them as immoral and blindly commercial.

Manchester United headed off a major dispute with the AFC when it withdrew from a planned match in Malaysia last July at a time when it would have clashed with the Asian Cup, the AFC's flagship tournament.

Football Federation Australia (FFA), which joined the Asian confederation from Oceania last year, yesterday released a statement rejecting the Premier League proposal.

"The bottom line is, FFA rejects the notion of another country playing a round of their domestic competition in Australia and intruding on the development of the A-League and the game in Australia," FFA chairman Frank Lowy said.
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