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| No | 50% | 52 votes | Total: 105 votes | |
| Yes | 50% | 53 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe purpose of taking English Premiership games abroad has been sold to the media as promoting the brand of football to a wider audience whilst the notion of playing a thirty ninth game has been sold to existing Premiership clubs with the sweetener that they will get 5 Million for their troubles.At first glance it sounded like a win win situation,but scratch under the surface and the whole idea should be consigned to the history books without further consideration.
The Premiership like any properly organised league runs on the basis that you play the same number of games at home and away. If you were to introduce the possibility of an additional game then the whole concept of fairness would be questioned every year.How would you decide who plays who in the extra game.There would never be a convincing argument for any format as invariably the extra match ups would unduly influence important outcomes at the end of the season. A second factor that would cause controversy and debate would be the decision on whereabouts in the world the extra games would be played.Some teams could be heading off for America,Australia or Asia whilst if there was an option on a day return,no jet lag trip to Europe then the double headed coin could be brought out to ensure a visit across the Channel rather than an Ocean.Similarly if a club were placed in a previously visited location,maybe from a pre-season tour,they could receive a significant amount of "home" support which would once again favour one team over another.
Trying to keep the brand of English football at the top and the most popular in the World is an admirable business proposition,but the risk of making it appear a lucky dip circus would be the more likely outcome from organising a 39th Premiership match each season. If a proper match with a trophy handed out at the end was deemed to be a suitable alternative then maybe the Charity Shield could be taken around the World.With such a proposition there could be no dispute about which teams take part and where the funds go. The actual fixture would have to be re-scheduled to ensure a quick hop over to Australia the week before the season started didn`t interfere with the preparations of the defending league and cup champions.
The final reason why the Premiership should not its` matches in the way that it is suggested is that this fundamental change is the brainchild of just one man and significantly is not backed by a large majority of the clubs themselves. The preference of these "no" voters is that they want to retain control of their own marketing and do not wish the footballing element of this to be tampered with.
Learn more about this author, Tim Carter.
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Yes
The joke, of course, is that soccer is said to be the sport of the future in America and always will be. Now, it seems, America is the future of soccer and will be for some time to come.
The idea of bringing EPL games to the States is one that makes sense, as the globalization of all professional sports continues. If some stuffy heads in the EPL or FIFA prevent this from happening, they should know that it will happen in the future, and the future is now.
This is reverse implementation of the National Football League sending league games to England and other parts of the world, as the NFL tries to introduce the rest of the planet to the joys of touchdowns, field goals and interceptions. But, while the NFL remains a bit of an oddity to the rest of the world, the EPL would find a huge and knowledgable fan base of support in the States, ready to treat the games with the respect, and nearly the fervor, they receive at home.
A better comparison perhaps would be the baseball games being played in Japan by Major League Baseball teams. Just as the EPL has a willing fan base in the States, so to does Major League Baseball has a ravenous fan base in Japan.
But sending EPL games to the States is not about the sport itself, or the games. It is about business, as the EPL looks to expand its footprint on the international sports marketing world, beyond its already enormous reach.
Certainly, games played in the States will be hard-pressed to equal in terms of revenue an identical game played at a home venue in England. While all the games likely will be sold out, I'm not certain there will be the same resale market for tickets as exists in the home country. After all, there will be no home team fan base present to hike ticket prices and secondary ticket sales demands.
That's why the original suggestion is to make games played in the States as a 39th game, rather than a merely relocated game in the usual 38-game schedule. For which teams wish to lose a home date, and home field advantage, in the incredibly competitive EPL? This is true at both ends of the table, where home field can mean a title, or loss of home field can mean a trip to the lower division.
I hope wiser heads will prevail in England, and in FIFA offices, allowing these games to take place. I have attended exhibition matches for EPL teams played in the United States and know the interest that exists for EPL teams here. The opportunity to see an actual in-season game in the United States? Priceless.
Well, O.K. not exactly priceless. There will be a price tag, and it will be an expensive one, and Americans will pay it. They will buy the kits, and the scarves, and the balls, and the hats, and they will make EPL officials slap their foreheads wondering why they didn't do this years ago.
This is, in fact, the perfect timing. Professional soccer in the United States is reaching a level of near-acceptance in the main stream. Cities with NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball teams are falling over themselves to get into Major League Soccer, which 10 years ago was holding on for dear life. The game, at the professional level, is catching on. It is a young fire, with little flames licking for a bite of oxygen, and there are people and communities waiting to provide more fuel to the fire.
I promise you, whatever reaction EPL officials expect to receive in the States when they bring in-season games to the colonies, the actual response will be far greater. We love our imports over here; we love all things British except for taxation with representation.
Come on. Quit the tease. Let's get it on.
Learn more about this author, Kent Mcdill.
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