Sadiq Khan backs calls to play Premier League games abroad and reveals which club he supports

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, this week backs calls to play Premier League games abroad and also reveals which club he supports.

Sadiq Khan’s endorsement of Premier League matches being held in the United States, highlighting the significant American fan base of teams such as Liverpool, has sparked quite the reaction online.

Many are against the idea, arguing that the Premier League should stick to its ties to England, while encouraging international supporters to travel to England for the match experience.

Concerns raised include the environmental consequences of increased travel, the potential marginalisation of local fans, and the perceived lack of comprehension regarding the structure of football leagues in contrast to American sports franchises.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) has expressed an argument, recommending that the mayor engage with match attendees to gain a better understanding of their preferences.

You can hear what Sadiq said by clicking play on the Spotify episode, 32 minutes in, below…

Dear @MayorofLondon – a quick question. Are you really saying you’d be happy to see the North London derby played in LA or NYC?

We suggest you talk to matchgoers (or the PM!) to find out what supporters really want – and we’re happy to meet you.https://t.co/hUTGqhsTmb

— The FSA (@WeAreTheFSA) July 26, 2024

The FSA AGM was last week and a motion opposing domestic football matches being played overseas passed unanimously.

Finally, as a Liverpool fan, the Mayor of London might want to note that the motion was proposed by, among others, @spiritofshankly https://t.co/CxgGYPrjR1

— The FSA (@WeAreTheFSA) July 26, 2024

Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, Khan said: ‘Liverpool, the club I support as Mayor of London, are currently on tour in America. They have big fans in America. Why can’t those fans see a competitive game?

‘We’ve seen other leagues across Europe play competitive games elsewhere. All 32 NFL teams have played in London, all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams playing in London.

‘There are lots of obstacles, but I think that’s the way it’s going. It’s very important to take the fans with you. We don’t want fans missing out on more than one or two games a season in their home stadium.’

‘When you look at the way the Premier League works, a lot of the money the clubs receive comes from TV rights,’ he added.

‘The key thing for our fans is to make sure our fans don’t lose out. To make sure the games are in the right time zones, that the players are looked after when they come back.

‘One of the things we learnt from American Football is that often when the players go back the next game is an issue due to time zones and diet.’

In June, Liverpool fan groups were reeling at chairman Tom Werner saying he wants to see Premier League games played in New York City.

‘I’m determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City,’ he told the Financial Times.

‘I even have the sort of crazy idea that there would be a day where we play one game in Tokyo, one game a few hours later in Los Angeles, one game a few hours later in Rio, one game a few hours later in Riyadh and make it sort of a day where the Premier League is celebrated.’

At last weekend’s FSA AGM, motion 6 passed unanimously.

Motion six – Opposing domestic football matches being played overseas

Proposed by Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST)

Seconded by: Cherries Trust, Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), Pompey Trust, Spirit of Shankly, Wrexham Supporters Trust

Conference notes that there have recently been a number of calls by various club owners and commercial organisations for English domestic football matches to be played overseas; further notes that FIFA has set up a working group to recommend potential rule changes to the current FIFA Regulations Governing International Matches.

Believes that any decision to move competitive domestic games overseas will have a detrimental effect on fans of clubs and the local communities they serve and that such a move would be a threat to the heritage and traditions of the game. Moving games to long distance, far away locations will also place increased pressure on the environment and the workload faced by professional footballers.

The FSA is requested to undertake the following activity:

– Make representations to the FIFA working group against allowing competition organisers and clubs to move their domestic matches to international jurisdictions

– Use their structured dialogue processes with the FA, Premier League and EFL to oppose these proposals including asking each organisation to state their position on these FIFA proposals and any plans they have to move matches in their competitions overseas

– Work with the Government and Department for Culture, Media and Sport to promote the swift return of legislation to establish an independent football regulator that would include robust measures for fans to have a meaningful say to block proposals to relocate domestic games overseas

Vote – The motion was passed unanimously with the addition, as per Motion Four, of the Women’s Super League and Championship included.

This is how fans reacted as Sadiq Khan backs calls to play Premier League games abroad and reveals which club he supports…

@avfcbrummie: Yanks are more than welcome to travel to England to watch English Premier League games. So much for his green credentials. Let’s send teams 6,000 miles to play a match that should be played up the road. Khan fix London and butt out of our national game.

@ctsmclovinya: Agree, sadly this will probably happen with the route that football is going down. Especially with (Khan specifically) wanting to bring more wrestling events to London, increase in NFL games. Makes a mockery of our game as we get more priced out, but money wins. Sick of it.

@scottie_game: These individuals are so out of touch with the working classes.

@carlweb884: The man is a danger to everything. Why has he even talked about this. He’s got nowt to do with it. Sod the foreign fans. Football is for the people, people pay good money for season tickets, and want to watch the big games for their team. Not lose that right to please corporate

@TheCockerel82: Another piece of tone-deaf drivel from @MayorofLondon. Man’s an absolute joker! This is such a bad idea & goes against the integrity of our beautiful game in the UK!

@flicksandtricks: Shall we move Wimbledon to Spain as well because there’s loads of Spanish tennis fans and we wouldn’t want them to miss out? The moment we allow this, we lose everything that English football is predicated on. Geographical location of clubs is as important as anything else.

@AngusMoorat: Horrendous that the Mayor of London appears to be supporting domestic English football being moved abroad. #NorthLondonForever

@Pat00758889Pat: What’s it got to do with him?

@charb009: This must not happen under any circumstances.

@NUFCMurph: Is that going to cover flights and hotels for season ticket holders to go and watch their teams in the states then?

@geemiller71: Grow up man

@elmarcosmasonos: Completely out of touch

@Paul_Coull87: Clues in the name of the league Sadiq, English Premier League

@BroonJiggy: @MayorofLondon this is what is wrong with the game. The Premier league is ours and something we hold precious. If people from all over the world choose to support a pl team that’s up to them stop joining the money men to take it away from us #nufc #PremierLeague

@ih8mkdons: Fk off Sadiq

@crowst3r: Dear me 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

@porternufc: If they want to see a competitive English league game, they can come here and try to scrap it out for tickets like the rest of us non season ticket holders. Absolute nonsense.

@ChrisLukeJones: They can. It’s called travelling over or a TV 👍 If they want to watch competitive games live they should make a league in the USA. Call it like Major League Soccer to blend in with the other sports or something.

@SibsMUFC: Why on earth would you say this when London attracts so many tourists who’ve come to watch a Premier League game? Completely out of touch.