London Mayor Sadiq Khan believes that the Premier League should host some fixtures abroad one day, despite backlash from English fans who disagree.
Sadiq Khan Believes Premier League Could Move Abroad
The Premier League has never played a game outside of England, but Sadiq Khan believes that as we move into the future the competition should be made more available to international fans.
As a Liverpool fan himself, Khan thinks that fans outside of England should be able to enjoy watching the football teams they support outside of pre-season tours.
“Liverpool, the club I support as Mayor of London, are currently on tour in America. They have big fans in America. Why can’t those fans see a competitive game?” Khan said appearing on the ‘Sports Agent’ podcast.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for Premier League games to be played in the United States 🇺🇸
“Liverpool, the club I support as Mayor of London, are currently on tour in America,”
“They have big fans in America. Why can’t those fans see a competitive game?” pic.twitter.com/QhaFWjlE2Q
— FUN88 (@fun88eng) July 26, 2024
“We’ve seen other leagues across Europe play competitive games elsewhere. All 32 NFL teams have played in London, all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams playing in London.”
The NFL launched their international program in 2007 and every year since then, at least two teams have faced off in London to try and grow the American Football fanbase.
International games have become more popular over the years and both Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have sold out matches ahead of this year’s season.
Khan continued: “There are lots of obstacles, but I think that’s the way it’s going. It’s very important to take the fans with you. We don’t want fans missing out on more than one or two games a season in their home stadium.
“When you look at the way the Premier League works, a lot of the money the clubs receive comes from TV rights.”
The Premier League has huge deals with American broadcasters, including a £2.2billion deal with NBC to show all matches between 2022/23 and 2027/28.
NBC are pushing hard to get Premier League games in America, but any potential games played overseas would spark an uproar with the English fanbases.
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