The Premier League has no desire to follow La Liga and Serie A by taking domestic matches abroad despite the presence of American ownership among English clubs
Premier League chief Richard Masters says they "don't have any plans to play matches abroad"
Premier League chief Richard Masters says they "don't have any plans to play matches abroad"
(Image: Alex Livesey - Danehouse, Getty Images)
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters insists there are no plans to play a top-flight match abroad, maintaining "it's not a debate around our table", after La Liga announced its intention to take Barcelona's clash with Villarreal in December to Miami.
England's competition is the most popular globally but all of the matches are played in the UK and that is not set to change. Italy, alongside Spain, have signalled their plan to take a domestic match abroad and are seeking permission from FIFA and UEFA.
It could mean that the Serie A sees AC Milan and Como facing off in Perth, Australia in February. Other one-off matches like the Italian Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup have also been played abroad in recent years.
The Premier League is much more driven by tradition as opposed to some of the other major sporting competitions. Staging NFL games outside of America is now common practice and hugely lucrative but that is not currently on the agenda from a football stand point.
Masters told the BBC: "I don't think it changes the Premier League's view on this at all, we don't have any plans to play matches abroad. It's not anywhere near my in-tray and it's not a debate around our table."
The idea of the Premier League playing an extra round - which became known as the '39th game' - outside England was raised in 2008 but those plans were binned amid huge backlash from fans.
Former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore claimed a decade ago that clubs were keen on the idea, but Masters insists that is not forthcoming despite the amount of American interest in the Premier League. There are 11 US-owned clubs in the top flight, putting them close to the two-thirds majority of 14 that is needed to bring about changes to the Premier League's rules.
Liverpool's chairman wants to see Premier League matches played globally
Liverpool's chairman wants to see Premier League matches played globally
Masters added: "The first thing to say is it hasn't happened yet. You need a whole bunch of things to happen. The Premier League flirted with this over a decade ago and the reason was to grow the league internationally and we were able to do this through different means - digital means, broadcast partners, concepts like the summer series in the US. The necessity that was driving that concept has dissipated."
Last year, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times he hoped to see Premier League games played in New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Riyadh and Rio de Janeiro. However, Bournemouth's American owner Bill Foley has said he does not support staging league matches abroad.
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