BROWN

LONDON (AP):

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants supporters to decide if the Premier League should go global.

"I think the fans have got to come first, and we have got to listen to what the views of the fans are on this,'' Brown said Saturday on BBC Radio.

The league's 20 clubs agreed unanimously last Thursday to examine proposals to expand the regular season and play 10 games overseas starting in 2010-11.

The matches would be played at five venues around the world over a single weekend in January 2011. Each city would host one game on Saturday and one on Sunday.

The international round would be in addition to the traditional 38 home-and-away matches each of the clubs currently plays.

Brown said he had seen first-hand on recent visits to China and India the support from foreign fans for the Premier League. He said the idea could work if the extra revenue generated would help fans based in Britain.

''Now, if that is money that is going back into football, and if that is helping keep the price of tickets down in England, and if that means that more fans get more opportunities of going to matches as a result of that at a cheaper price, then that would be something that I think people would want to take into account,'' Brown said.

''So let's see what the fans say about this. But I think it is important to recognise that all the money has got to go back into the game so that the fans get the benefit.''