LONDON (AFP) - Everton star Phil Neville says he will be happy to play Premier League matches in Hong Kong, Dubai or New York -- provided the groundbreaking plan is linked to the introduction of a mid-winter break.
The plan to take the English Premier League global, unveiled on Thursday, has triggered a storm of protests from fans who have accused league chairmen of threatening to destroy traditional links between clubs and their communities with a scheme driven purely by greed.
A number of top flight managers have also reacted coolly to the proposal for an "international round" of matches, suggesting it is unworkable.
Neville however said he was excited by an innovation he believes is inevitable.
"I can understand what the traditionalists may say, but the Premier League is worldwide," said the England international. "After each game you're doing interviews for Asian TV, Australasian TV, everywhere. This is a chance to spread the gospel even more.
"Obviously it couldn't work if you were coming back and having a midweek game a couple of days later. But as long as there is proper recovery time then I'd be very excited by it."
"We play Reading this weekend and if we were doing that in the Giants stadium in New York, all my family would be there.
"Some have called for a mid-winter break, but this could actually be part of it. You could have your one game in the middle of, say, a two-week spell, and everyone would benefit."
Under the EPL's proposals, the overseas matches will start in the 2010-11 season with five cities hosting two matches each on the same January weekend.
Chief executive Richard Scudamore estimates that the clubs could generate over five million pounds (ten million dollars) each for their one trip.
Everton's chief executive, Keith Wyness, predicted that many domestic fans would incorporate a January trip into their holiday plans, offering an added incentive for host cities to bid.
"I think we would be able to do some sort of special discount packages to a lot of fans and so I know a lot of our fans would definitely want to go," he said.
Wyness added: "Change is hard in football. For all the fast pace we have in the game, change is very hard to accept, and it's something we have to look at but I have a lot of faith in Richard (Scudamore) - he has proven to do some very great things with the Premier League."
The five overseas venues will each play host to one of the league's top five clubs with their opponents and the other five matches decided by a draw.
Among the cities touted as possible venues are Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Miami, New York and Singapore.
Would-be hosts however will face cut-throat competition from rivals in their own region because the league wants to ensure a spread of matches across different time-zones to ensure matches can be viewed consecutively on television in Britain and Ireland, generating further revenue.
The concept of the international round is controversial for a number of reasons.
Unless other matches are axed (FA Cup replays, international friendlies?), it will only add to fixture congestion and player fatigue and there is a risk that the luck of the draw to decide the line-up of matches could determine the destination of the league title.
For example, the current leaders Arsenal might be given a relatively straightforward fixture against, say, Wigan, while Manchester United could be drawn to face Aston Villa.
The plan could also raise the hackles of football's world ruling body FIFA, which regards the popularity of the Premier League in regions like Asia as a barrier to the development of local leagues and national sides.
Manchester United were harshly criticised by FIFA for playing a pre-season friendly in Malaysia last year at the same time as the country was jointly hosting the Asian Cup.
In the eyes of club chairmen however, all the potential problems are outweighed by the lure of the significant increase in revenues -- in excess of ten percent for the average club -- that the international round would bring.
