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8 months ago
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Premier League games will be held in the United States by 2034, according to the head of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Casey Wasserman, who is also the founder of the Wasserman sports agency, told The Times he would be 'shocked' if competitive Premier League games are not held in the United States in the next 10 years.
He also expects LaLiga in Spain to follow suit, but admits here is a potential for an angry backlash from fans in Europe after the failed launch of the Super League in 2021.
Speaking to The Times, Wasserman explained: 'Just as the NFL has done a really good job taking their games overseas I think you are going to see European professional [soccer] games being played in the United States.
'It is the biggest sport in the world and this is the biggest sports market in the world.
Premier League games will be played in the USA in the next 10 years, it has been predicted
Premier League teams such as Manchester City are touring the USA for preseason this year
The game is growing in popularity in the US, especially with interest in the Premier League
'If you had a Manchester United v Chelsea match in New York or a Real Madrid v Barcelona in Miami, those levels of games in American cities — real games that count — could be massive. I would be shocked if it didn’t happen.'
The NFL already holds several competitive games in Europe - last season, Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs played Miami Dolphins in Germany - while this coming seaosn, the Philadelphia Eagles will start their campaign in Brazil.
NFL teams only play 17 games in the regular season as well - far less than the 38 each across the Premier league.
MLB teams are heading overseas too - the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are playing two games in London later this season and the Los Angeles Dodgers started their 2024 campaign in South Korea.
European football teams are clearly eager to tap into the American market, which is seeing a growth in interest in the sport that has always struggled to take off.
The United States hosts the Copa America later in 2024 and is joint host of the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.
Lionel Messi's move to David Beckham's Inter Miami in Major League Soccer has only helped, too.
Several giants from across Europe are heading to the US for preseason this year, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Wasserman, head of the Los Angeles Olympics, thinks the Premier League is USA-bound
But Wasserman said fan fury at the European Super League is a warning to USA plans
NFL games are often held overseas - last year, Travis Kelce and Chiefs played in Germany
But European fans are extremely protective of competitive games being moved overseas - exemplified by hundreds of thousands of supporters across Britain and Europe protesting in the streets when botched plan to launch a Super League emerged in 2021.
Those scenes are not lost on Wasserman.
'The emotion around soccer, as you saw with the European Super League, is at a whole other level so they will have to work through those things,' he said.
English (US)