The campaign to have Premier League matches played in the US continues to gain momentum, with US television giants NBC
The concept of holding Premier League matches across the Atlantic has seen a resurgence in recent weeks, with chief executive Richard Masters admitting “the door is ajar” for matches to be played abroad.
However, he also noted that it was not currently a topic of discussion, which seems to have poured cold water on the idea.
It comes at a time when football is experiencing huge growth in the United States, with Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami being one of the contributing factors, but there is also great interest in the English game.
A record 2.6 million viewers tuned in to Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal, widely regarded as a game that would decide the league title, and NBC’s president of acquisitions and partnerships has revealed that they have taken out “conversations”.
American broadcaster NBC wants to host two opening matches of the Premier League weekend in the US.
Jon Miller, president of acquisitions and partnerships at NBC Sports, said there have been “conversations” with the Premier League.
The Premier League has grown in popularity in the United States in recent years (pictured, Premier League Fan Fest in Nashville in April)
“We have had conversations with the Premier League and they have been very open and receptive to listening to me.” Miller told The Athletic.
‘Last year we did the Premier League Summer Series (in preseason) where six teams came; Fulham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
‘We had nine games in seven days in five cities in the United States (and 265,000 fans attended). It was great.’
‘All the teams that came did very well, had a great experience and were able to really interact with the fan base. And the Premier League saw that it was very successful. At some point in the future, I’d love to see a couple of Premier League games opening the season here in big stadiums on our opening weekend.
“And I know it’s something we’ll continue to push for because I think there’s an American audience here that would like to watch regular season games, but in the meantime, we’ll continue to work with the Premier League to do everything we can.” possible to make the games available to as many people as possible.
It comes as Casey Wasserman, director of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and founder of sports and entertainment agency Wasserman Media Group, suggested the move would likely come in the future.
Wasserman used the example of NFL games being played at Wembley, which has been something of a success story with English fans flocking to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley regularly.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has already supported moving Spanish league matches to the other side of the Atlantic, suggesting the 2025-26 season as a starting point.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters (pictured) said the “door appears ajar” for matches to be played abroad.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas (pictured) has said he wants to organize a Spanish match in the United States.
“Just as the NFL has done a very good job taking its games overseas, I think we’ll see European professional (soccer) games in the United States,” Wasserman said.
“It’s the biggest sport in the world and this is the biggest sports market in the world.”
“Look what Messi playing in MLS is doing for MLS, it’s impressive. But if you had a match between Manchester United and Chelsea in New York or between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Miami, those levels of games in American cities (real games that count) could be huge. I would be surprised if it didn’t happen.
However, it is worth noting that an NFL team will only play 17 games in the regular season before the play-offs, which is much less than the 38 a football team plays in the league alone, before the playoffs. matches of at least two cup matches. Competitions for Premier League teams.
The trips across the Atlantic would therefore infringe on an already busy schedule that is constantly the subject of criticism from top coaches, as Pep Guardiola discussed this month.
There are also likely to be environmental ramifications involved in an entire football team crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a regular basis and advancing just to play a match, and similar complaints have already been raised due to the impacts of clubs traveling across Europe in the middle of the week.
The idea has met with strong opposition from fans, who played a key role in the failure of the “game 39” idea about 17 years ago, with many American fans also opposed to the suggestion.
The Football Fans’ Association wrote in
The Premier League hosted several pre-season ‘summer matches’ in the United States last summer
The likes of Chelsea, Newcastle and Brentford crossed the Atlantic to take part in the Summer Series last year.
Another user added: ‘I’m an American fan and this is not something I want. The Premier League is not an American sport and they should not have to travel here for league games. Ever.’
A third claimed: ‘From an American obsessed with English football to Jon Miller, NO! English games belong to England.
One wrote: ‘Absolutely and unequivocally not. The hardest of the hard passes. An absurd idea defended by those who have no idea about the culture, community or history of football.
And a fifth user concluded: “There is literally no reason for a European league to play real competitive games in the US… the players already have an extremely full schedule, it’s not comparable to the NFL where the teams only have to play like 17 games a week.” season without international competitions.’
The fact that fans appear to be so vehemently opposed would be a considerable obstacle to the movement, as fans played a key role in the dissolution of the proposed European Super League in England, as well as the rejection of the proposed 39th match .
NBC Sports currently has a six-year deal with the Premier League for continued exclusive coverage of games in the US from 2022.
The deal was reported to be worth $450m per season (around £360m) for the Premier, “representing more than five times the first deal signed with NBC when they began broadcasting the Premier League in 2012”, according to The Athletic. .
Additionally, over the past 11 years, nearly 40 million viewers have watched the Premier League each season on NBC, and a Nielson study revealed that 48 percent of all soccer fans in the U.S. now own a team. Premier League favorite.
The idea has come under heavy criticism from both fans on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Miller also wants to provide greater audio access to fans, which will include miking managers.
Miller also revealed that he would like to provide greater audio access to fans, as he wants to offer a deeper insight into the way coaches interact with fourth officials, players and the rest of their coaching staff.
He told The Athletic: “There are two things that really bring the viewer and the fan closer to the action: access and audio. So as long as you can increase your access and accumulate stars, it’s great. And people love to listen what Jurgen Klopp says to his team or what he says on the sidelines.
‘We are aware that there has to be some protection against that. But we think those are the kinds of things where we continue to push the limits. And the Premier League responds. They are really good when we bring them ideas. It is far from me to try to tell the Premier League what makes a good product. Your product is spectacular.
“But just like we do with the NFL and golf, we’re constantly having conversations with our partners and brainstorming things we can do to make the games better and more engaging to try to grow our audience.”