Watched a TV programme the other day, and they were talking about the NFL game that came to Wembley. The idea of a Premier League game being played in the US was discussed with the 2 journo's in the studio agreeing it was a good idea.
I'm not sure I agree with them. The Premier League is an English league, and therefore should be played in England, end of.
What are peoples thoughts here?
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Read a piece he did recently saying that some Premiership chairman are open to the suggestion. Certainly makes you think why do these global businessmen want to get involved in English football unless there was a globalisation agenda.
Sport in America is built on franchises, not clubs. They have no understanding of the roots and history attached to it, nor the blinkered passion of the the fans. Any attempt to franchise the game on a grand scale (look at the uproar caused by little old Milton Keynes), and football in this country will effectively be changed forever. It would still be commercially successful, but it won't be the game me and you know and love.
Will the club pay for the season ticket holders to go to a "home" game in las vegas !
Now that would be alright by me... however;
If that starts being the trend I would hate to be a dedicated all games, whether it be rain, wind or sleet season ticket holder at Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool... sorry not forgetting Spuds! (tongue in cheek).
Imagine the cost involved! its just not the same going through your pre game rituals and familiararity on a saturday.
The games English and supported by English fans. It would make a farce out of the rest of the league as most clubs would only be playing for 5th in the Premier league, as the top four/five cough would be almost untouchables.
But, I was watching a year in the making of Barcelona last night and the revenues they were getting from improving their global marketing by playing in South Africa and Japan (their bench mark was Man U) was hundreds of millions of euros. So you can see where the attraction comes in...
But in the long run for English football I think its wrong for the reasons AFKA stated.... its screws with traditions and age old English'ness.
May be future fans would have a screwball case for infringment of human rights due the club moving the place of worship to another country etc .... ;o)
But it's irrevocably changed forever anyway in just the last 10/15 years or so.
The traditionalist in me says a big "NO" to this sort of thing, but a nagging voice in my head keeps saying, "So what? Let your Arsenals, Man U's, Liverpools and Chelseas fug off and go and play in some sort of permanent Euro league, and let that Euro League play some of it's games around the world, if that's what they want. That way the rest of us can just get on with things!"
It already has AFKA, the Premiership and Champions League have seen to that. This will just be another extension of what is already happening.
If they can sell 81,000 for an NFL game (at ridiculous prices I may add) in England, then I'm sure they will have a field day, selling ManU v Liverpool or Arsenal v Barcelona out in Asia for a "real" match. Add the TV rights and they generate umpteen times more revenue "than the game me and you knew and loved".
Add the precident that the FA set in allowing a "franchise" and the move away from their control to The Premiership and the big clubs/owners now have a free hand to sell when and where they like.
if the interest over here is such, that it can generate a crowd of 81,000, i bet you that feasibility studies from a lot of american football sides into taking their franchise here are being instigated, if not already under way.
i know it was a "one off" and i don't know how many fans attend the games in the u.s. but the business people behind (perhaps smaller) teams will be seriously considering a move.
Not forgetting, the time the Redwing coaches will get back, christ, they have to stop twice on the way back from Watford
Don't think that's what they've done for the Dolphins v whoever it was at Wembley... the programme also went to Miami and spoke with some ST holders, who were moaning that they had to pay more this season, for one game less....
Can't remember to be honest, and I've deleted the programme
There was a big article in the Observer on Sunday based on this idea.
A couple of key differences are that US GridIron is a collective with shared ownership, kit deals, college drafts and salary caps where all the teams collaborate and share income. The two teams giving up a game got paid by the other sides. I can't see english teams agreeing on the same idea.
The other issue is that Gridiron needs to promote itself in other regions, football doesn't. So why stage a game in Bombay or Beijing when you can stage it in Manchester or London and people watch it on TV.
As for Season ticket holders. Who will care about them.
I doubt they will play games out there, but potentially they could.
If they believe that they could generate substantial extra revenue by playing in the Asia/Pac time zones it would be seen as good marketing to have it played there as well. It would help promote live English/European football if they wanted to play it at peak viewing hours in the region, it would also be good marketing to make them feel that the Leagues were really Global. For me it would just be an extension of the Saturday midday/early evening/Sunday noon 4pm / Monday evenings etc. They play and sell it at whatever times maxinise the revenue, extending that to local peak viewing times around the globe would be the next logical step, especially if they feel the UK sales are maxed.
nobody cares about that game but it would be a huge draw for the legions of Man Utd fans in Asia etc
But they would have to stop everytime a car went past (and they'd get badly grazed knees!)
I very much doubt we'll go down this road (and hope we don't).