Brown wants fans to have say on global matches

LONDON (Reuters) - The validity of a proposal for Premier League matches abroad depends on its benefit to fans, said Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Brown said revenue from the plan, which would mean the season having an extra 39th round of games from 2011 to accommodate 10 matches at foreign venues, should mean a reduction in ticket prices for supporters in England.

"Fans have to come first and you have to listen to their views on this," said Brown, just back from a tour of China and India where the Premier League is hugely popular.

"It's important to recognise the money has to go back into the game," Brown said in an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday.

"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 more fans get more opportunities of going to matches as a result of that at a cheaper price, then that would be something I think people would want to take into account.

"There is no doubt about the worldwide interest in the Premier League. There is no doubt that that's good for football because it gets more money into the game in England.

"There is no doubt the Premier League has taken over from the Spanish and Italian as being probably the one that people would want to watch the most and therefore you have to get the best players into the league," added Brown.

Fans and the media have largely opposed the idea of matches abroad but some Premier League managers, including Sunderland's Roy Keane, are for it.

(Reporting by Rex Gowar, editing by Tony Jimenez)