• 'It is taking over, other leagues have
difficulties to match it'
• 'England are ready for 2018 World Cup, but they are not
alone'
The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, is worried other
countries' leagues are suffering in the shadow of the popular
Premier League. Photograph: Lefty Shivambu/Getty Images
Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, claims that the
increasing global popularity of the
Premier League is damaging the
appeal of football in other countries.
Blatter, who also criticised the lack of competition within the
English top flight and reiterated his desire to limit the number of
foreign players plying their trade in the Premier League, said that
other leagues were having "difficulties to match it".
"I have my concerns because the Premier League is the strongest
in the world, definitely," Blatter told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It is
taking over in such a manner that the other leagues have
difficulties to match it."
"In a competition where two-thirds or three-quarters of the
participants in the league play not to be first, but not to be
relegated, there is something wrong," he said.
Blatter added that he would meet the chief executive of the
Premier League, Richard Scudamore, to discuss his continued
intention to impose a minimum quota of English players.
"I want to try to, if not persuade him then at least influence
him in his thoughts that to have a minimum of local players will
enhance the quality of his league," Blatter said.
The Fifa president, who turns 73 on Tuesday, also voiced
concerns over the increasing foreign ownership of English clubs,
which he described as a "risk" and warned that there were no
guarantees that England's plans to bid for the 2018 World Cup would
be successful. "What is the advantage of England?" he said. "If you
look at the technical infrastructure for stadiums and the
organisation of football matches on the level of 50,000 people and
upwards then they are ready to organise it, but they are not the
only ones."