The Premier League has changed significantly since its creation back in 1992.
England’s leading division has witnessed the introduction of goal line technology and Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in recent times – as well as amendments to the handball rule.
The amount of teams involved in the Premier League also changed after the 1994/95 campaign, with four teams going down and only two coming up that year, as the Football Association (FA) opted to make it a 20-club division instead of 22.
Since then, there has been consistency on this front, with 38 Premier League matches played every season – although an interesting discussion regarding Game 39 broke out back in 2008, an idea both Arsene Wenger and Roy Keane supported.
What was said about Game 39?
The idea behind Game 39 was to play one extra round of Premier League matches in a neutral venue outside of England – the result would be included in the final league table – with initial plans predicting it could be worth an additional £80m annually.
During a meeting in February 2008, the idea was proposed to all 20 Premier League clubs, ahead of the 2010/11 campaign where a new broadcasting rights contract would be in place.
As aforesaid, Wenger was in favour, and expressed his disappointed when others pushed back against the proposal, telling Sky Sports: “The idea looks to be dead, maybe because the idea came out in a brutal way and maybe the PR was not done.
“Now it looks to be an idea which is in a very difficult position. I was open minded but as well, I will not cry if it doesn’t happen. I just felt there was something to explore there which will now not be done. It looks difficult to resurrect now because UEFA, FIFA and the FA have come out against it. It is a big stream to swim against now.”
Furthermore, Keane – who has clashed with James Maddison – told the BBC: “It’s great. Change is good but that depends who you are playing in that extra game. If it’s one of the top four, I might argue.
“The Premier League has been brilliant and Richard Scudamore (Premier League Chief Executive) spoke brilliantly. They are looking at the proposals and do everything properly. I think we should all be trying to be positive about it.”
As Wenger – who once hit out at Mathieu Flamini for his sleeves – alluded to, the idea ended up fizzling out due to fierce backlash, with Sepp Blatter even stating it would harm England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, had it been actioned.
Game 39 conversation emerged once again in 2021
This discussion did not die down, and reared its ugly head quite recently back in 2021.
“We really shouldn’t be playing Premier League games in the United States or in other countries.”
Bournemouth chairman Bill Foley is against playing Premier League games abroad ❌ pic.twitter.com/Zv84VHS8fq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 25, 2024
However, the Premier League reached out to Sky Sports to stress that the plans were different to those proposed in 2008, with a focus now being placed instead on “trying to make pre-season matches more competitive, whilst also potentially opening up lucrative new international markets”.
