The prospect of Premier League games being played in the US has received a mixed response, to say the least. Sections of UK football fandom are bitterly opposed to the prospect, but some business figures have highlighted an opportunity.
Earlier this week, NBC CEO Jon Miller told The Athletic about his vision of bringing Premier League football to the US. Premier League teams already often play on US shores, such as international friendlies, tours and in tournaments like next year’s FIFA Club World Cup.
However, Miller was not talking about these matches. NBC’s CEO wants to see in-season English top-flight fixtures held in the US, where the outlet is the primary broadcasting partner of the league.
In response, the UK Football Supporters Association (FSA) reacted harshly. In a post on X/Twitter, the association asserted: “We defeated Game 39 in 2008 and we’d attack any attempted revival with a full blown, two feet off the ground, studs to the knee tackle.”
Game 39, as the FSA refers to it, is the potential for a 39th gameweek of the season to be held in the US. As referenced by the FSA, this was proposed back in 2008 but was ultimately shelved after an extensive fan backlash.
However, there are others who believe that the prospect could be positive for English football. Sharing his views with Insider Sport, Neil Joyce, CEO of fan data firm CLV Group, highlighted the revenue opportunities.
Citing its own data, CLV estimates that there are 88 million football fans in the US with 42% undecided on which team to support. Joyce believes that clubs such as Manchester United and City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Spurs and Chelsea, which have cultivated strong global brands, could benefit from this.
Joyce’s remarks also come amidst the adoption of new rules around revenue and spending for Premier League clubs. With Everton and Nottingham Forest having already fallen foul of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), maximising revenue streams may be high on the agenda of many clubs.
Joyce said: “The new rules intend to balance what can be spent from top to bottom of the Premier League, and will ‘anchor’ the spending cap to a multiple of the amount of broadcast money earned by the league’s lowest club.
“Given that the current Sky Sports broadcast deal with the English Premier League is relatively static and actually has decreased on a per game basis, it does call into question the long term robustness of using such a method.
“That means ultimately limiting or stunting the growth of the Premier League in terms of its competitiveness against other leagues around Europe, but also other sports and even other industries. Therefore, finding new fans in new ways via new propositions will become absolutely crucial to clubs moving forward.”
The US is arguably the world’s biggest sports market, with its four major leagues – NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – among the 10 most valuable in the world. Appetite for football/soccer is also increasing.
The country is one of the co-hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and zeroing in on the Premier League, NBC has been amassing a total viewership in excess of 500,000 per season.
Joyce continued: “We know the US market is ready for Premier League clubs to win the hearts, minds and wallets from undecided, unknown US fans – whether it’s through selling merchandise directly to fans, or pursuing partnerships across other sports, collaborations with video gaming, music and content creators.
“Miss this opportunity and we risk losing all of our momentum to the rising tide of organic growth of Major League Soccer, not to mention other European heavyweights like Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich.”
Whilst some such as Joyce have pointed to the revenue possibilities of stateside Premier League games, the opinions of fans on the matter cannot be discounted.
The FSA has already pointed to the successful rejection of the 2008 proposal, but this is not the only instance where fan voices have proved influential – the European Super League (ESL) proposal being a more recent example.
Finally, it is also important to note that the Premier League itself has not confirmed any plans are in place. Meanwhile, the league’s CEO, Richard Masters, recently aired his views on international football calendars already being too busy, suggesting that the league will not be open to adding a 39th game to its schedule soon.
