NBC want two English games to be played in USA

[Middedon]

It's up to fans in your area to change that. It's about growing your own league and clubs. Get organised, turn up week in week out, then suddenly you've got the numbers filling the stadium and, in theory, an atmosphere. I know you guys seem a bit alien to atmosphere, but you'll at least get whatever the Yank equivalent is called.

I totally agree with this, but right now I don’t have the bandwidth (three kids) to do it! Part of the issue is in America big stadiums are often outside the city and often no public transportation. The 3-4 hours of travel time is not doable with my current phase of life (as I’ve got to watch my 9 yos football games on the weekend), but maybe in the future. Americans have a long way to go to make sports accessible - from a cost and location standpoint.

 

[MeatnSpudsMCFC]

If it was up to owners this would have been done long ago.

However, English football being rooted much more in traditionalism is probably going to be a barrier. The reaction to the super league was a prime example of any form of change.

Also, theres all sorts of problems that would occur. Only way I could plausibly see it is if they add another fixture to 38 games. But then how do we determine who plays who in that fixture? Taking an existing fixture seems laughable. Lottery draw where the possibility of home Manchester derby is picked up and moved to New York? I’m sure that’ll go down well and it calls into question the fairness and integrity of the league.

Can’t help but feel this sort of thing is often driven by people who are mistaking football clubs for US sports teams that are considered franchises.

 

[waspish]

At the moment it’s illegal under FIFA anyway, there’s a court case going on about it now, so until that’s resolved permanently we can all just ignore this rage bait.

US Soccer has also forbidden foreign league games to be played in the USA, so even if FIFA have to change their stance because of that case, US Soccer has to change their mind as well.

So Spanish teams still might not play over there in 3 years then?

Anyway it ain't happening anytime soon but who knows in another 10 years!

 

[chesterbells]

Just give them an end of season friendly between the top two teams and tell them it's the play-offs.

Just do a re-branded Community Shield game over there. Would probably raise even more money.
Easy solution (?).

 

[COAT_OF_ARMS]

I totally agree with this, but right now I don’t have the bandwidth (three kids) to do it! Part of the issue is in America big stadiums are often outside the city and often no public transportation. The 3-4 hours of travel time is not doable with my current phase of life (as I’ve got to watch my 9 yos football games on the weekend), but maybe in the future. Americans have a long way to go to make sports accessible - from a cost and location standpoint.

I'm not sure that Truro, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, Carlisle, Wrexham, Inverness, or Gretna are particularly accessible either, or even the likes of Burnley, but I do get your point. Plenty of people in your shoes... but equally there's plenty who aren't. That's the same both sides of the pond. I do agree that America has a long way to go on all of those issues, I just think that's more their fault than our's, and that they should look to fix those issues and grown the sport locally instead of trying to pinch games from our league that'll just end up suffering those same issues and having more complications on top.

 

[Middedon]

I'm not sure that Truro, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, Carlisle, Wrexham, Inverness, or Gretna are particularly accessible either, or even the likes of Burnley, but I do get your point. Plenty of people in your shoes... but equally there's plenty who aren't. That's the same both sides of the pond. I do agree that America has a long way to go on all of those issues, I just think that's more their fault than our's, and that they should look to fix those issues and grown the sport locally instead of trying to pinch games from our league that'll just end up suffering those same issues and having more complications on top.

I realized after reading your post how annoying I sounded - you’re right, certainly not the only one with kids and limited weekend time. I find the cultural differences in how we support sports and how the different countries view “fandom” interesting, so thanks for the discussion.

 

[halfcenturyup]

If it was up to owners this would have been done long ago.

However, English football being rooted much more in traditionalism is probably going to be a barrier. The reaction to the super league was a prime example of any form of change.

Also, theres all sorts of problems that would occur. Only way I could plausibly see it is if they add another fixture to 38 games. But then how do we determine who plays who in that fixture? Taking an existing fixture seems laughable. Lottery draw where the possibility of home Manchester derby is picked up and moved to New York? I’m sure that’ll go down well and it calls into question the fairness and integrity of the league.

Can’t help but feel this sort of thing is often driven by people who are mistaking football clubs for US sports teams that are considered franchises.

Surely you aren't saying the people behind the increasing US investment in the sport don't actually understand anything about it?

 

[ChicagoBlue]

If they want live competitive games then have an Fa Cup round be played there. Let the money be shared by all teams in that round equally. Or maybe the winner of each game gets a bonus that for the smaller clubs would be a massive a financial windfall.

If they made it a "socially beneficial" event maybe football fans who couldn't travel would be understanding.

Also it's not part of a season ticket.

NBC isn’t interested in the smaller clubs, nor is most of the American audience. Go big or stay home.

They’re looking for BIG NAME TEAMS and BIG NAME PLAYERS they’ve heard of to sell the narrative and advertise the game.

There is a reason City go on a pre-season tour to the States and play big name teams, even though half the team generally plays half a game each.

The presence of the big name players available for interviews and “exclusive content” they can share across multiple platforms (Cable, Streaming, YouTube & Twitter channels) which allows them to monetize the events and pay the big bucks for the teams to go in the first place.

We may all despise the Americanization of the game, but what the word really means is “Monetization,” and the owners (and players who make $$$$ off events and sponsorships!) LOVE IT!

Pre-season in the states generally guarantees warm (hot!) weather training, lots of extracurricular activity availability, and generally living it up. There is a reason so many players cite the States as their favorite place to visit…there is something for everyone and you can be as “out there” or incognito as you want.

The game is growing rapidly here and the level and quality of new stadia exclusively for MLS teams is extremely high. In fact, NYCFC is currently in the process of finalizing a deal to build a “downtown NYC” football stadium, which would be the first outdoor sports stadium in the city, and quite the coup considering New York Red Bulls (the first NY soccer team) had to build theirs on industrial land in New Jersey.

American ownership and the growth of both MLS and the EPL in the U.S. presents a significant injection of money into the game that cannot be ignored. Even FIFA, never one to step over a penny, readily acknowledges it with the upcoming World Cup.

While I recognize the history of the English game and what it means to the locals who helped create both the teams and the product, it is unrealistic to expect the clubs and Associations to look the gift horse in the mouth, especially in the era of regulated finances.

Accordingly, the “romance of the F. A. Cup” is not really what America is looking for nearly as much as a City vs Liverpool or Chelsea vs Arsenal type game. That makes it very hard to accomplish as a regular season game, which is why we do the Pre-Season Tours…




Top tier talent that will draw a couple of hundred thousand fans and decent TV audiences! Not a Luton or Bournemouth in sight!

 

[M18CTID]

I wouldn’t mind a home game in say Vegas or New York, assuming they’d cover the expenses for ST holders.

Including beer money of course ;)

 

[BMR]

Just do a re-branded Community Shield game over there. Would probably raise even more money.
Easy solution (?).

I keep saying this, rebrand it the English Super Cup play it abroad they will be queuing up to host it. I have never been to one of these glorified friendlies and never will.