Richard Scudamore, a former CEO of the Premier League, first proposed the notion of a 39th game in 2008.
The owners of Liverpool, Fenway Sports Group, have long prioritized finding new sources of income.
The Reds’ owners were involved in the failed attempt to establish the European Super League in 2021, and they were also one of the main proponents of Project Big Picture, a Premier League reform initiative that would have given the league’s top teams greater voting rights based on membership length, reduced the number of members from 20 to 18, and eliminated events like the EFL Cup and the Thriving Playoffs.
As with the ESL, the proposals never materialized, leaving Premier League club owners, particularly those from the so-called “big six,” which, given Newcastle United’s rise, should actually be regarded as a big seven, to try and find ways for the game to evolve in order to maximize its revenue potential.
Todd Boehly, a co-owner of Chelsea, made a lot of headlines with his remarks about bringing the All-Star Game, a tradition in North American sports, to the Premier League and pitting North against South as a way to boost income for the League. Fans were highly offended by his statements. Finding new ways to improve the game in the upcoming years will be crucial, especially given the need to keep audiences interested in order to increase the broadcast sums that support the entire football ecosystem. The Premier League is now a global brand with hundreds of millions of fans around the world, and for clubs whose overseas following is getting on par with their domestic one.
