Liverpool’s chairman Tom Werner wants Premier League matches to be played in New York- an idea that did not go down well with fans.
“I’m determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City,” Werner said in an interview with Financial Times.
Werner’s ambitions did not end there as he further stated, “I even have the sort of crazy idea, that there would be a day where we play one game in Tokyo, one game a few hours later in Los Angeles, one game a few hours later in Rio, one game a few hours later in Riyadh and make it sort of a day where football, where the Premier League, is celebrated”.
In 2008, the Premier League had proposed to stage an extra round of games that would be played outside England but the idea did not go through as the fans and FIFA strongly opposed it.
However, FIFA recently ordered to review the policy of restricting domestic league games from being played outside the country. If this move does go ahead, the decades-long tradition of playing league games in own country will end. Countries like the United States and Saudi Arabia are seen as potential hosts that would see them build their brands and fanbases.
Staging proper European games in other countries won’t be new as countries like Spain, Italy, and France are known to hold their Super Cup games in Saudi Arabia, China, and Israel.
This season the FIFA Club World Cup, which has been extended to 32 teams, will also take place in the United States.
Talks of PL in New York Receive Similar Criticism To Super League
The six English clubs were forced to withdraw from the Super League plan after a furious backlash from fans in 2021. Now there is a threat of a similar situation to arise from Premier League games potentially hosted outside the country.
The domestic fans would no longer be able to travel thousands of kilometers to watch their team play and local teams could be overshadowed by clubs with global brands.
“It’s not part of our current plans, it really isn’t,” Premier League CEO Richard Masters said at a news conference last month.
If the proposal does go ahead, the Premier League will change forever for many reasons. While the PL fans abroad will welcome this step as they will get a chance to see their heroes playing in front of their eyes, the local PL supporters will be far from pleased to see their domestic league taken miles away from them.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
