Why Premier League would love New York

From The Times

October 29, 2007

Gabriele Marcotti

Last night, at Wembley Stadium, the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins contested the first NFL regular-season game outside North America. It is part of a not-so-secret expansion plan by the league that would, potentially, result in all 32 NFL franchises playing one game per season outside the United States (they would move from 16 to 17 matches a year, ensuring that each club would maintain the same number of home and away games in their country).

Some Barclays Premier League club owners are watching developments closely. Eggert Magnússon, the non-executive chairman of West Ham United, and Stan Kroenke, a minority shareholder of Arsenal, have welcomed the idea. After all, as a promotional tool it makes sense.

Audiences are global, so why not give them a taste of the product in the flesh? Clubs have been going on preseason tours for years, but, precisely because far-flung audiences are becoming savvy, they know that a midsummer friendly is, ultimately, a meaningless exhibition match. There is nothing like the real thing - when points are at stake – to satisfy the craving.

But what if, in the search for new markets, they went one step farther? This year I had lunch with a former Major League Soccer (MLS) executive with plenty of connections in football. While emphasising that, at the moment, it is only talk, he outlined a potential future scenario that would revolutionise the sport: a Premier League club based in New York City.

Leave aside the inevitable (and largely justified) opposition from Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, and anybody with an appreciation of the history and traditions of the game. Remember instead that, throughout history, most of the seminal – and previously unthinkable – changes have been brought about by economics. If the potential profits are there, people will chase them, particularly many of the owners of Premier League clubs, nearly half of whom are from overseas and most of whom are quick to emphasise that they are “investors”. Investors, by definition, chase profits. And these investors, like it or not – in their guise as shareholders – “own” the Premier League.

So how would it work? First, you need a club willing to move across the Pond. A decade ago, Sam Hammam allegedly tried to move Wimbledon to Dublin or Belfast. His idea was shot down, but the club ended up in Milton Keynes. Most likely it would have to be a smallish club, perhaps one with a crowded catchment area such as, say, Fulham, or, if they win promotion, Queens Park Rangers. Not coincidentally, both clubs sit on valuable real estate and have high-profile owners.

Then there is the issue of logistics. New York is a seven-hour flight away from the UK, with a five-hour time difference. But that is less of an issue than it appears. While it is not ideal, you can fly out on Friday morning, arrive by noon local time and keep the whole squad on UK time while you are there (which means lights out at 7pm). You play at 12.15pm US time on Saturday (which is 5.15pm in England, perfect for television) and then fly back immediately afterwards.

You will get home in the early hours of Sunday (but that is no different from what happens after certain European ties). And, besides, it is only one league match a year. The Premier League owners could all chip in and buy a kitted-out 747 that everybody could share to make things smoother.

Admittedly, the fixture list would take some rejigging. You may want to ensure that the New York team gets a few more back-to-back home or away matches to lessen the impact of travel. And you would need some flexibility for European and cup-ties, particularly in midweek. But it is possible.

Beyond that, financially at least, things get attractive. Playing in the biggest media market in the world would raise the profile of the team and the Premier League instantly. Without getting too far into the argument of why the US has not fully embraced “soccer”, one big factor is that people want to watch meaningful games with recognisable stars. The MLS is not seen by many casual supporters as a top-class product. The Premier League is a whole different story.

What kind of crowds could be expected? It is difficult to say. The New York Red Bulls attendance numbers (about 14,000, unless David Beckham is in town) offer little indication. Consider instead the fact that more than a million people in the New York metropolitan area were born in Europe. Throw in those born in other football-mad continents such as Africa and South America and the figure rises to more than three million. And there are more Britons residing in the New York area than there are in Wigan, Bolton or Reading.

But the main economic lure comes from television rights and sponsorship. With a proper foothold in the world’s largest economy, one taken seriously by supporters and local media alike, the Premier League’s revenue prospects would rocket.

Back to reality. It will not happen for a while, perhaps it will never happen. But the harsh truth is that, if the Premier League ever choses to do this, the only organisation with any clout standing in its way would be Fifa. And history shows that, if it makes economic sense, people usually find a way around all the obstacles.

Pizarro’s painful lesson

Kudos to David Pizarro, the AS Roma midfield player, for speaking out on an issue that football is ignoring: the medical treatment players receive. “We take too many pharmaceuticals, whether painkillers or supplements,” he said. “When we get injured they shoot us up to make the pain go away so we can get back on the pitch. We play too many games and don’t have time to recover naturally between each match.” Wise words. Maybe the Professional Footballers’ Association and its equivalents across the Continent should take a look at what is going into players’ bodies and what those players may feel like in 20 years’ time.

Ticket costs relative

The cheapest tickets at the African Cup of Nations in Ghana will cost just under £5, a fifth of what it cost to buy a seat in the most affordable category at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. However, given that Ghana’s per capita gross domestic product is about a twelfth that of Germany, in relative terms the tickets are not that cheap.

Organisers wanted to make them more affordable, but fears of widespread ticket touting meant that they had to set a minimum price that is still too high for people’s liking.