Premier League's 'Global Round' In Doubt

The English Premier League's newly-proposed "global round" is already encountering fierce resistance around the world.

As part of the plan floated by EPL chief executive Richard Scudamore, five international cities would be chosen to host two games each over the course of a weekend, with one game on Saturday and one on Sunday. The plan would add this 39th game to the schedule which would count toward official league standings.

But United States Soccer Federation head Sunil Gulati is already expressing concern over potentially hosting any such games.

"We've been reluctant to have official games played in the US," Gulati told BBC Sport. "We'll be guided by FIFA on this matter. But if it's not in line with its rules then we won't sanction it. We understand it's a global sport but it's about nurturing the home game.

"We have got a great relationship with the English FA and there's a lot of good reasons to look at it," Gulati continued. "But there are also some issues that we have got which would cause us to be very hesitant."

FIFA will look into the proposal at their executive committee meeting on March 14th. Several other countries have expressed broad opposition to hosting the games, mostly due to the negative impact it might have on each country's domestic league.

Asian Football Confederation chief Mohammed Bin Hammam has also spoken out against the plan in recent days.

"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," he said in a statement.

"But at the present time, I can't see the wisdom in the proposed plans," he continued. "My recommendation to the AFC executive committee would be to reject any initiatives of this nature. And we would urge the AFC member associations to protect their own national leagues and clubs within their territories. This is our position."