Inevitable that Premier League games will be played abroad, says Sadiq Khan

25 July 2024, 18:47

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Sadiq Khan has suggested it is a matter of time before Premier League games are played abroad.

The Mayor of London expressed concern that fans may miss out should Premier League games be played abroad, but compared the English football to other major sports franchises such as the NFL.

"I think that’s the way it is going, and I think it is really important to take fans with you, what I don’t want is fans who support their team missing out on more than one or two games a season watching their team in their home stadium," he told Global's the Sports Agents.

"We’ve seen some other leagues across Europe have some of their competitive games held elsewhere.

"By the way all 32 NFL teams have now played in London and all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams now playing in London."

Mr Khan continued: "We’ve got seven Premier League clubs in London, but when you look at the way the Premier League works, a lot of the revenue they receive is TV rights, Liverpool the team that I support are currently on tour in America.

"I think the point that the Premier League would make and some of the owners would make is, why can’t their fans in those countries benefit from a competitive game?"

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Mr Khan went on to say that the "key thing" is that English fans "don't lose out" by making sure the games are still played at an appropriate times.

"The thing we’ve learned from American football is often when the players go back to America the next game is an issue because of time zone, because of diet and so forth," he added.

The Premier League has repeatedly insisted it has no plans to play Premier League games abroad, contrary to the trend involving other major European football leagues.

Spain's La Liga is one league that is planning to stage games abroad, mainly in the US by 2025.

The topic recently hit the headlines after a senior figure at Birmingham City considered a bid to play its League One fixture against Wrexham in the US. The owners of both clubs are American.

But the idea was reportedly shot down so quickly that it was never officially suggested.

Wrexham's owner, Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds, also confirmed on social media that no talks had taken place.