Premier League chief executive Richard Scudmore had planned to go Zurich this week to champion the merits of the ‘39th game’ vision. But in a statement the Premier League said: “We will conduct further internal studies and consultation before seeking the advice of Fifa.”

FIFA said it was happy with the Premier League’s decision to conduct further internal studies before meeting.

Despite much opposition to the plan, the Premier League said: “We sincerely believe that the Premier League has much to offer the development of the game internationally as witnessed by the many federations and leagues that currently seek our involvement and advice. There never has been a rush to conclude these matters and we are more than willing to take time to develop our proposals further before seeking approval, without which it is not our intention to proceed”.