Premiership plans to go global
A dream is set to come true for North American fans of English soccer when the Premiership goes global in less than three years time.
From the 2010-11 season onwards, plans are afoot for every English Premier League team to play an extra game, counting towards the league standings, outside of the U.K. Five cities around the world will be selected, with each venue to hold one game on the Saturday and another on the Sunday of a selected weekend in January. It seems certain that at least one venue each year would be in the United States, with Los Angeles a prime candidate and New York likely to be ruled out because of potential inclement weather conditions.
So what do you soccer fans think?
I only see this as a positive for soccer in the U.S., giving fans a chance to see top-level talent at close quarters. Sure, there are plenty of exhibition games featuring European clubs each year, but the fact that these matches will count towards the Premiership title race – and be just as important as any other EPL game – will be huge in driving interest in the sport.
Major League Soccer is unlikely to be too concerned, especially since the proposed games will take place right in the middle of the offseason. Said Los Angeles Galaxy president Alexi Lalas: "Teams have come here on tours for years, America is recognized as an emerging market, but the competition wasn't there. So to see teams in meaningful games is great for the spectators."
Interestingly, this proposal has been borrowed directly from the NFL, which staged a regular-season contest between the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants, and the Miami Dolphins in London last year. Once Premiership owners saw the impact that game made, what were once vague suggestions about overseas EPL matches evolved quickly into a serious possibility.
Now, with Premier League chief Richard Scudamore going public, it has become a probability.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
"The globalization of sport is both an opportunity and a challenge; one that needs addressing in a responsible way" – Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League.
