The numbers involved in the Premier League (PL) are impressive and the season has once again demonstrated the power of this sector, with 13.6 million fans attending matches, allowing it to beat the previous record attendance, with stadium occupancy of 95.3%. "The Premier League is known around the world... for its passion... for the atmosphere on the pitch... I will miss it all," said Alex Ferguson. It was a season of innovation with the approval of Goal-Line Technology, the season of implementing the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), and the inaugural season of the U-21 and U-18 championship. The EPPP was initiated in the 2012/2013 season and was implemented in order to promote the development of home grown players through exposure of these athletes to competitive and interesting competition such as the Under 21 and Under 18 PL . The EPPP was developed and agreed by all partners: the PL and its clubs, the Football League (FL), the Football Association (FA) and other key stakeholders. It was created based on six principles, which were: “increase the number and quality of home-grown players who gain professional contracts at clubs and play first-team football at the highest level, create more time for players to play and be trained , improve coaching delivery, implement an effective measurement and quality assurance system, positively influence strategic investments in the Academy system, seek to implement significant gains in every aspect of player development.” Under the EPPP, £340m of funding will be spread over four years with a commitment to youth development across all four leagues. The competitions were created to replicate the PL in an elite youth environment and they arrived... middle of paper... their talent bank when Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal chose their best youngsters?", Daily Mail, 12 July 2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2361656/West-Bromwich-youngsters-snapped-Liverpool-Chelsea-Arsenal.html, accessed November 2013Rory Smith, “EPPP: More Questions than Answers,” http://espnfc.com/feature/_/id/1576711/eppp-more-questions-answers?cc=5739, October 8, 2013, accessed November 2013 Henderson Todd, “The English Premier League's Home Grown Player Rule Under the Law of the European Union,” 37, Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 259, 2011, via Chicago Unbound, accessed November 2013IbidIbidPremier League, Premier League Handbook 2013-2014, page 362, http://www.premierleague. com/content/dam/premierleague/site-content/News/publications/handbooks/premier-league-handbook-2013-14.pdf, accessed November 2013