Liverpool chairman Tom Werner says he wants to see a Premier League match played in New York City and has envisaged fixtures being held in different locations across the world.
There are no current plans for in-season matches to be played outside of England, but there is a desire among American broadcasters for it to happen.
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In April, Jon Miller, a leading executive at NBC Sports — the broadcaster that shows the Premier League in the United States — told The Athletic he “would love to see” and will “continue to push for” it to happen. NBC spent $2.7billion (£2.2bn) on a six-year deal to exclusively show every Premier League game between 2022-23 and 2027-28.
“I’m determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City,” Werner said to the Financial Times. “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.”
Werner proposed offering cheap flights and accommodation to local supporters, recognising the potential backlash, as part of an effort to see English top-flight matches played abroad.
Despite Werner’s ideas, Liverpool owner John Henry stated — in the same interview — that his colleague’s plans for a game in New York were “not something that I advocate or am particularly interested in”.
Premier League clubs have visited the U.S. on pre-season tours in recent years, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal set to play one another this summer.
Last summer marked the inaugural Premier League Summer Series in the U.S., featuring Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Newcastle United, Fulham, and Aston Villa. The matches were held across Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey, and Maryland. However, this will not be taking place this year due to several complications around the event but organisers are looking at holding the series again in 2025.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has also floated the possibility of holding Champions League matches in the U.S. and replacing the UEFA Super Cup with an opening tournament outside Europe.
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The prospect of hosting matches in the U.S. gained traction after FIFA settled a lawsuit with events promoter Relevent, which had attempted to bring a La Liga match to Miami in 2018. FIFA is now considering changes to its rules on hosting matches outside traditional jurisdictions.
In a recent interview for The Athletic with the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer Alan Shearer, former USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann said he thinks it is inevitable that matches will eventually be played in the U.S.
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“Obviously for us traditional fans, it’s really difficult to take,” Klinsmann said. “It would feel like you robbed the game from the English fans, and I totally understand that.
“On the other hand, the business world is moving on, whether we want it to or not. It’s not our decision, it’s the owners’ decision about how they compete with the other big leagues.
“I think we’ve gone too far in certain elements, but pulling it back is pretty much impossible.”
(Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
