Football club owners meet in the region for talks

The Premier League’s summer summit will be held for the first time at the five-star Rockliffe Hall hotel, near Darlington.

The list of delegates remained top secret last night, however The Northern Echo understands Aston Villa’s billionaire owner Randy Lerner will be among those attending.

Organisers of the event arrived yesterday, with club chairmen and chief executives, including representatives from Newcastle and Sunderland, due to arrive today for the two-day meeting.

On the agenda is expected to be plans to tackle players’ bad behaviour on the pitch.

Excessive swearing, such as the incident which earned Wayne Rooney a two-match ban, and the crowding of referees by aggrieved players, will be targeted in the clampdown.

The meeting could also look at proposals to reform youth development and the academy system in professional football.

At present, Premier League clubs, plus Football League clubs with academy licences, can only source players aged between 14 and 16 from within a 90-minute radius of their home ground, however, it is hoped this rule will be relaxed.

According to one report, Rockliffe Hall won the contract to host the meeting after providing a cheaper quote than the long-time location Stapleford Park, in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.

It is not the first time the luxury hotel has welcomed guests with a footballing agenda.

Last year, the six-strong team of Fifa inspectors were put up overnight at Rockliffe while visiting the region to inspect its credentials as part of England’s doomed World Cup 2018 bid.

The team was flown from the hotel by helicopter to Sunderland, shown the Stadium of Light and then flown on to Newcastle.

Last night, the hotel declined to comment on the meeting, with a spokesman saying: “We don’t discuss the details or identities of anyone staying at the hall.”

The Premier League also refused to reveal details of the event.

He said: “We can’t reveal details of meetings that we do or don’t have.”