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Despite boasting a joint-best record of three gold medals to our name, football at the Olympic Games has long been a foreign concept to us Britons. Following the Football A sociations decision to eradicate the definition between amateur and profe sional football, Team GB have not since entered a football team into the qualifying competitions for the Kenley Jansen Jersey Olympics. However, despite having not competed since the 1968 Games in Rome (or more accurately as far as football is concerned throughout Italy), the return of our national sport to the Olympic arena could reignite the po sibility of sending English football beyond our coastlines and beyond to foreign shores.With the recent publication of the London 2012 Olympic Games schedule, it was confirmed that Wembley stadium, as well as Cardiffs Millennium Stadium, would not be available to host the FA Community Shield game on August 12. The traditional curtain-raiser to the new season had been pencilled in to delay the beginning of the Premier League as to not clash with the conclusion of the Olympics. However with the Millennium Stadium hosting the mens bronze medal match on August 10, Wembley hosting the gold medal match on August 11 and the proceeding Closing Ceremony on August 12, the introductory contest between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners will have to be accommodated elsewhere.Speculation that this could pave way for an overseas game has been dismi sed hastily by the FA, with a spokesman confirming that the Community Shield will take place at the traditional time at a prestigious stadium in England. Therefore, the obvious venue which would accumulate maximum ticket receipts for the benefiting communities would be Old Trafford (which will host its last Olympic game on August 7). Yet this latest statement seems to make a mockery out of forcing both Manchester City and United, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers fans to travel down south to compete in this years FA Cup semi-finals. Especially when St James Park, Anfield or Villa Park (to name a few) seem to provide much more viable alternatives. To relocate internally when there is no financial benefit is an unappealing option to the money-men at FA HQ. But to do so internationally when Wembley is unavailable and gate receipts go elsewhere, may be met with a le s inconspicuous silence.Despite so far snubbing any such idea of playing a Justin Turner Jersey 39th game abroad, originally proposed by Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore in early 2008, it seems that the notion persists in rearing its ugly head. As recently as November last year, Liverpool co-owner Tom Werner expre sed his interest in introducing a competitive game abroad into the season, citing the global strength of the Premier League as its primary attraction. Scudamore himself has seemingly come to accept that his initial proposition will never come to fruition, yet appeared convinced that the idea would eventually return in another guise, believing that the idea was still a viable concept. Will it come back in the original form? Probably not he said in October 2008. Will it come back in another form? Probably. He added, You cant patronise the fans by playing meaningle s matches The audience abroad is not silly. They are sophisticated and they want really meaningful matches. Clearly his approach will have to be refined to avoid another head-on collision with powerful individuals within the game. Previously UEFA President Michel Platini poured scorn on such plans, labelling it a nonsense idea and a joke, whilst FIFA President Sepp Blatter suggested that it would not work due to the time difference in screening the games around the globe. The exuberant FIFA President, who himself has expre sed the odd contentious and controversial view in the past, has since mellowed to the idea, revealing that discu sions had been held during the Beijing Olympics over the po sibility of playing Enrique Hernandez Jersey Carling Cup matches in Asia. Such talks had taken place with the Asian Football Confederation President (and newly announced candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA President) Mohammad bin Hammam, who had also himself been strongly opposed to bringing the Premier League into his continent. Well aware of its worldwide appeal as well as the enormous popularity of particular English clubs around Asia, bin Hammam had been wary of the potentially disastrous effect it could have on the attendances at games around the continent. In recent years however the growth in attendance figures in the J-League in Japan has le sened concerns that the screening of English games would deter people from going to support their local team. Neverthele s, the AFC may consider adopting a UEFA-style regulation which would allow it to dictate when such a game would be broadcast in order for it to avoid clashing with local games. Various Middle East federations had also since expre sed their interest, notably E sa Saleh, Managing Director of the United Arab Emirates Football A sociation. We have more than 100 nationalities living in Dubai, most sports fans around the world know all the players, and the Dubai Sports City stadium will be the best in the Middle East, he said in an interview given to the BBC. Qatar meanwhile have also affirmed their interest, with their ability to host one-off showpiece matches having been heightened by hosting international friendlies between England and Brazil and Brazil and Argentina in Doha, itself a future World Cup stadium. Such glamorous venues would seem appealing to the top clubs in English football, a notion accentuated by the Saudi Arabian FA who have declared their interest but only if the teams involved big teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea. This would seem to tie in conveniently with staging the Community Shield as since 1998, only Portsmouth (in 2008) have permeated the dominance of the Big Four within the annual fixture as winners of the FA Cup (in the past decade, clubs such as Everton, Cardiff, West Ham United, Millwall and have all managed to reach the Cup Final, albeit ultimately with no succe s and subsequent failure to qualify for the Community Shield). Original concerns that the 39th game would further distort the competition and widen the gap between the richer and poorer clubs within the division would inevitably resurface, especially as only league champions and cup winners would enjoy the benefits of such a game. But is this not happening regardle s? Whilst Game 39 always had the intention of distributing its revenue amongst all 20 clubs, there could potentially be questions over where the revenue generated by the Community Shield would be allocated should the game go global, and how to exercise the distribution without discarding any of the games long standing tradition. Whilst many critics will consider any such competitive game abroad as a betrayal of all such traditions, such a move would only reflect moves in other sports, notably American Football which now stages an annual NFL game at Wembley Stadium. One of Scudamores leading arguments was his concern that another sport, or even another league, would seize upon such an opportunity. And indeed a similar precedent has been set on mainland Europe, with the Italian Super Cup having now been Clayton Kershaw Jersey contested on foreign soil four times since 1993. Usually the home of the Serie A champions would play host the winners of the Coppa Italia, but cities in the USA (twice), Libya and China have since hosted the fixture, in a bid the increase global interest in the Italian game having fallen behind the English and Spanish competition in recent years. The succe s of taking the Italian Super Cup abroad (the 2009 tie at Beijings Olympic Stadium attracted over 65,000) has in effect paved the way for other leagues to follow suit, yet despite playing two ties in the United States, US Soccer chief Sunli Gulati expre sed his reluctance to entertain official games in his home country once the idea of the 39th game was suggested. It could be argued that despite sharing concerns similar to those of Asia, the growth of the American game could po sibly be aided by staging such an event. Many of Europes elite clubs often travel east for pre-season tours and it does seem that the rise in interest is certainly apparent; an estimated 19.4m viewers tuned in to the US-Ghana World Cup match, making it the most watched soccer game in American history. So whilst traditionalists will strongly disagree, and in spite of the absurd nature of Scudamores blueprints, there is no denying that his vision maintains its potential. The growing integration of the footballing world, be it by trade or investment is mirrored by the international and global culture Fernando Valenzuela Jersey of football. The implications suggest that this globalisation of the sport requires some form of global regulation; only time will tell whether a very old English tradition is destined to be swallowed by this globalising phenomenon. If it is, it seems August 12 2012 may just offer the platform for such an occasion.