Burnley chief Alan Pace is all for playing English games overseas – but with one major caveat.
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Burnley chairman Alan Pace addresses concerns about Turf Moor changes and access...](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/burnley-chairman-alan-pace-addresses-concerns-about-turf-moor-changes-and-access-routes-5370453 "Burnley chairman Alan Pace addresses concerns about Turf Moor changes and access routes")
The prospect of playing a game abroad, most probably in the States, is an issue that refuses to go away.
In Spain, the La Liga fixture between Barcelona and Villarreal was due to be played in Miami, but that has since been cancelled following recent protests.
“I’ll be very clear on this one, I would vote for it,” he told Burnley supporters at the recent fan forum.
“But I don’t think you have to do it for one of the seasonal games that are meant for the league, but I can see them doing it for a cup or a special cup that allows for it or something that finds a way to strike the balance.
“I do think that building an opportunity for both the league and the fans to travel to another place and see games, there’s something in it.
Pace pictured at Espanyol's recent game against Atletico Madrid (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)placeholder image
Pace pictured at Espanyol's recent game against Atletico Madrid (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“Would I be willing to vote for the exploration? Yes I would. Would I be willing to take our game against, let’s say, Man City and play it elsewhere? No, I don’t really think so.
“We only have two cups, so I know what I’m talking about is very theoretical, but I’ve also heard plenty of times about people wanting to get rid of one of the cups.
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“All I would say is that there is a way to find a solution that could actually be quite interesting in my opinion and that’s just my opinion.
“The economical value of sharing our leagues, our teams and our product with other parts of the world could really change some of the economics for some of the clubs like us from a long-term perspective.
“I love that we don’t have to have season tickets at the level of US prices or even London prices, but you have to see that this game continues to get inflated, so how do we stay up? How do we compete? I don’t know, because I don’t think it’s tenable to just hope that all the smaller clubs are just going to stay small and find a way.
“There are solutions that could be helpful to all of us. I’m not sure everybody thinks the way that I think, so I’m not sure I’m going to be the swing vote on whatever ends up happening.
“I will say this is a realtime debate in Spain, it is happening and I will be involved in that debate. I don’t have a problem with it there either, but I don’t think you should play your league games because the home and away thing does really matter. But there are some ways to find other solutions, and I don’t just mean friendlies because no-one really cares.”
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