All-Star game not on agenda for Premier League

The idea of a Premier League all-star match was not even mentioned at a top-flight clubs meeting in London on Wednesday.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly floated the idea of a North v South match during a conference in New York last week, and said he had already discussed it with bosses at other Premier League clubs.

However, it is understood that there was no mention of an all-star match when clubs came together for a shareholders' meeting.

All-Star matches are common in American professional sports, but the idea has come in for criticism from a number of observers since Boehly suggested it, including Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.

It is understood there was also no specific discussion on changes top-flight clubs would like to see to domestic cup competitions at Wednesday’s meeting.

Premier League clubs were believed to be unanimously in favour of scrapping FA Cup third and fourth-round replays from 2024 heading into the meeting, with new-look European competitions starting then which will add further fixtures to an already congested schedule.

Third and fourth-round replays have not taken place in either of the last two seasons due to Covid-related fixture congestion, and it is understood scrapping them for a third straight season is an option that could be looked at if there is a backlog of matches, with some teams having had two fixtures postponed earlier this month following the death of the Queen.

Premier League clubs are less aligned on their vision for the future of the League Cup, with some – including all of the Big Six – understood to favour allowing teams involved in Europe to field under-21 teams or to drop out altogether.

Changes to the English domestic cups are just