Ghanaian football fans are set to watch the English Premier League free on television as the English FA is planning to overhaul the way it sells its overseas rights as part of a drive to further grow the appeal of English top-flight football in emerging markets such as China, Africa and India. At its two-day AGM, which begins today, the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, and his head of international broadcasting and media operations, Phil Lines, will put forward a plan designed to counter the threat of American sports and rival leagues. Previously the league has tended to sell the rights to the highest bidder. But in the overseas markets it will look to make at least one package of live matches ­available to a free-to-air broadcaster in a bid to expand its reach. The Premier League, which sells the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis, has become the most popular football league in the world over the past decade, available in 662m homes. Under the current deal, income from overseas rights has more than doubled to £625m, a figure that is expected to increase further when the new contracts are offered on a staggered basis across the rest of the year. Last time, 81 deals covered 211 territories. Having already banked almost £2bn from domestic live rights and highlights for the three seasons from 2010-11, the Premier League is hopeful of persuading the chairmen that it is worth taking a hit in emerging markets in return for growing their reach. In any case, the overall total is still expected to top the existing £2.7bn brought in under the current deal. They are likely to argue that not only will a longer-term approach lead to bigger returns further down the line, but will increase their own possibilities for merchandise sales, tours and other spin-off benefits. In China, the Premier League was seen as having made a strategic error by signing an exclusive deal with the pay-TV operator WinTV, available in only a handful of homes. The NBA and other football leagues, including the German Bundesliga, are available on the Chinese state ­broadcaster, CCTV. The overseas TV deal is one of several items on a packed agenda at the AGM, including the proposals made by the league in response to culture secretary Andy Burnham's questions on the future of the game. Chairmen will vote on new financial controls and a strengthened fit-and-proper-persons test, as well as discussing how best to implement new rules designed to promote the development of home-grown players. Source: Guardian