The Premier League is reportedly getting closer to staging ‘meaningful’ football matches overseas with the launch of a tournament across the US, according to The Athletic.
The report states that an ‘enhanced pre-season’ tournament is set to take place in July 2023 ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season, and it will look to involve English football’s top-flight clubs.
The proposal is considered a first step on a roadmap to hold truly ‘competitive matches in strategic markets’, a plan that was initially in place for 2022 before Covid-19 restrictions prevented anything of significance materialising.
The details have not been finalised, but it is thought that the competition could see around six Premier League clubs divided across two groups, each playing two round-robin friendlies in multiple cities on the east and west coasts of the US.
The summer of 2023 sees a gap in the annual football calendar with no major men’s international tournament scheduled, meaning that the league views the timing as a perfect opportunity to stage the event with England’s top clubs having their most high-profile players available.
It is thought that 14 of the Premier League’s current 20 sides are keen to participate, with league’s biggest clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs – yet to reveal their intentions. However, the involvement of at least one of these clubs will be viewed as crucial to the project.
With the US currently preparing to co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada, the tournament would benefit from Premier League branding and attract interest from sponsors and broadcasters.
Clubs are reportedly referring to the plan as a superior version of the Premier League Asia Trophy, the two-day biennial contest that ran from 2003 until 2019 in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. The tournament also saw Premier League sides face off in front of an international crowd.
Despite the success of the NFL and NBA in taking regular-season games outside North America and into Europe, league officials insist that taking Premier League league matches outside of the UK is not currently part of the plans.
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