This summer, the Premier League will be making its way to America with nine out of the eleven teams that have announced their pre-season tours heading Stateside. Exciting fixtures include Liverpool facing Arsenal in Philadelphia and Manchester City taking on Chelsea in Ohio. Notably, Tottenham Hotspur is traveling to Japan and Australia and has not yet revealed any pre-season fixtures in the United States.
The possibility of regular Premier League games being held in the United States has been brought to the forefront following a recent announcement by FIFA. The FIFA Council has agreed to establish a working group to assess the impact of leagues hosting matches abroad. Factors under consideration include fairness to fans, the balance of home and away fixtures, sporting equity in the fixture schedule, as well as player and fan welfare and safety.
Spain's LaLiga has been at the forefront of advocating for league games overseas, with plans to potentially hold matches in the U.S. as early as the 2025/26 season. LaLiga's interest in expanding into the North American market has been a driving force behind this initiative.
While the prospect of Premier League games in the U.S. may not sit well with UK-based fans, the potential to capture a significant portion of the 88 million soccer fans in the U.S., as estimated by fan data firm CLV, is a compelling opportunity for Premier League clubs. With roughly half of Premier League teams having American ownership, the strategic importance of tapping into the American market is not lost on club owners.
Although the move towards overseas games may be met with resistance, Premier League owners are closely monitoring FIFA's working group and its forthcoming report on the impact of such matches. As the landscape of international sports continues to evolve, the debate around hosting Premier League games in the United States is likely to intensify in the coming years.
