How Long Before We Get a Premier League Club Outside of the UK?

Since it was launched at the start of the 1992-93 season the Premier League has become a truly global competition.

At the moment foreign players account for an incredible 62 percent of the players in the Premier League, and over half of the clubs have foreign owners, so is it now only a matter of time before a club from outside the United Kingdom joins its ranks?

It sounds preposterous, an assault on the tradition of the English game in the year the Football League celebrates its 125th anniversary, but it would be surprising if the idea had not been considered. 

Every summer the leading Premier League clubs go on preseason tours to all corners of the globe and play in front of capacity crowds.

This summer Manchester United attracted 83,000 fans in Sydney, Liverpool drew 95,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Chelsea and Manchester City played in front of a sell-out crowd of 46,000 in St Louis.

If the Premier League ever invited bids from foreign teams to join them they would be trampled in the stampede.

But will it ever happen, and how long will it take?

The idea of a foreign team in the Premier League is simply a logical extension of the 39th game concept, which the Premier League proposed in 2008 and would have seen each team play one extra league game at a neutral ground somewhere around the world.

There was an enormous backlash from the Football Association, associations around the world, the British media and, crucially, British fans to this, which forced the Premier League to reluctantly ditch it.

Speaking two years ago in The Guardian, the Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore reflected on the idea:

"

Clearly it is not going to happen in our league. It's certainly not going to happen on my watch and I'm not leaving any time soon. I'm not going to be raising it again because I don't think it's worth it in the scheme of things.

I'm a realist. We floated the idea and said: 'How about playing some games internationally?' I actually thought it was a good idea, and some other people thought it was a good idea, but very quickly the media got on our backs and public opinion really ruled it out.

"

This was for one game. Imagine the backlash if the Premier League suggested that a foreign team permanently join them? 

And yet the idea and all it represents has not been banished completely. It remains in storage. It will be brought out again some time in the future. There is too much money at stake.

When the idea of an extra foreign game is proposed once again, the chances of a foreign team also joining the league would naturally follow.

The Premier League has seen the NFL encroaching on its turf and knows it has far more potential for global expansion. As Scudamore told The Guardian:

"

It's been with some irony that we've watched the NFL come here in the last few years and people say how fantastic it is that the NFL comes to Wembley. 

And we've seen baseball open their season in China and now we've got England playing friendlies against Argentina in Saudi Arabia or Switzerland or wherever.

"

Sport is becoming increasingly global and the Premier League, the most popular competition in the world, wants some of the action.

The Premier League certainly does not want to stand still, while all around them other sports are expanding.

Since 2007 the NFL has staged six regular season games at Wembley stadium in London, and two more are planned for this coming season.

Following the success of these games the NFL have even considered having a team based permanently in London. As the co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers John York told the BBC:

"

Obviously having a franchise here is a long-range plan. We'll have to see what we go through over the next few years, but if the game continues to grow and people love the game, the end game of having a franchise in London would be terrific.

"

The NBA is getting in on the act as well, and in recent years has also staged regular season games in London.

When the outgoing NBA commissioner David Stern was asked if the NBA would have a team in Europe, as reported by CBS Sports, he replied: "I think so, I think multiple NBA international teams. Twenty years from now? For sure. In Europe. No place else."

Hearing this talk from two American sports, the Premier League would certainly have considered the idea themselves, but at the moment there would be too much opposition.

The 39th game will reappear. Just this summer Scudamore slightly softened his tone, and quoted in The Gulf News, he said: “Will it probably happen? It will probably happen one day but that day probably won’t be on my watch.”

The 39th game is the first step, and once that happens, as it will, serious talk will begin about having a foreign team join the Premier League.

It might still offend the traditionalists, but it is likely to happen in the future. How long? Give it at least another decade.

Since it was launched at the start of the 1992-93 season the Premier League has become a truly global competition.

 

At the moment foreign players account for an incredible 62% of the players in The Premier League, and over half of the clubs have foreign owners, so is it now only a matter of time before a club from outside the United Kingdom joins its ranks?

 

It sounds preposterous, an assault on the tradition of the English game in the year the Football League celebrates its 125^th anniversary, but it is highly likely the idea has already been discussed.

 

Every summer the leading Premier League clubs go on pre-season tours to all corners of the globe and play in front of capacity crowds.

 

This summer Manchester United played in front of 83,000 fans in Sydney, Liverpool drew 95,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Chelsea and Manchester City played in front of a sell-out crowd of 46,000 in St Louis.

 

If the Premier League ever invited bids from foreign teams to join them they would be trampled in the stampede.

 

But will it ever happen, and how long will it take?

 

The idea of a foreign team in the Premier League is simply a logical extension of the ‘39^th game’, a concept the Premier League floated in 2008 which would have seen each team play one extra league game at a neutral ground somewhere around the world.

 

There was an enormous backlash from the Football Association, the British media and fans to this, which forced the Premier League to reluctantly ditch it.

 

Speaking two years ago in The Guardian the Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore reflected on the idea:

 

"Clearly it is not going to happen in our league. It's certainly not going to happen on my watch and I'm not leaving any time soon. I'm not going to be raising it again because I don't think it's worth it in the scheme of things.”

"I'm a realist. We floated the idea and said: 'How about playing some games internationally?' I actually thought it was a good idea, and some other people thought it was a good idea, but very quickly the media got on our backs and public opinion really ruled it out.”

This was for one game. Imagine the backlash if the Premier League suggested a foreign team permanently join them.

And yet the idea and all it represents has not been banished completely. It remains in storage. It will be brought out again some time in the future. There is too much money at stake.

When the idea of an extra foreign game is proposed once again, the chances of a foreign team also joining the league would naturally follow.

The Premier League has seen the NFL encroaching on its turf and knows it has far more potential for global expansion.

"It's been with some irony that we've watched the NFL come here in the last few years and people say how fantastic it is that the NFL comes to Wembley,” Scuadmore told The Guardian.

 

“And we've seen baseball open their season in China and now we've got England playing friendlies against Argentina in Saudi Arabia or Switzerland or wherever.”

 

Sport is becoming increasingly global and the Premier League, the most popular competition in the world, wants some of the action.

 

The Premier League certainly does not want to stand still, while all around them other sports are expanding.

 

Since 2007 the NFL has staged six regular season games at Wembley stadium in London, and two more are planned for this coming season.

 

Following the success of these games the NFL have considered having a team based permanently in London.

 

“Obviously having a franchise here is a long-range plan," the co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers John York told the BBC. "We'll have to see what we go through over the next few years, but if the game continues to grow and people love the game, the end game of having a franchise in London would be terrific."

 

The NBA is getting in on the act as well, and in recent years has also staged regular season games in London.

 

When the outgoing NBA commissioner David Stern was asked if the NBA would have a team in Europe, as reported by CBS Sports, he replied: "I think so, I think multiple NBA international teams. Twenty years from now? For sure. In Europe. No place else.”

 

Hearing this talk from two American sports the Premier League would certainly have considered the idea themselves, but at the moment there would be too much opposition.

 

The 39^th game will reappear. Just this summer Scudamore slightly softened his tone, and quoted in The Gulf News, he said, “Will it probably happen? It will probably happen one day but that day probably won’t be on my watch.”

 

The 39^th game is the first step, and once that happens, as it will, serious talk will begin about having a foreign team join the Premier League.

 

It might still offend the traditionalists, but it is likely to happen in the future. How long? Give it at least another decade.