
The Transatlantic Sporting Highway is not, in present form, a two-way street, or at least certainly not one in which Mustangs and Minis drive in opposite directions at equal speed. Since 2008, the NFL has been bringing regular matches across the water with huge success, while the NBA has come, seen and moved on to Paris, leaving space for Major League Baseball, back for its third London Series next month.
In return, the Premier League has gone as far as a summer series of friendlies in the States, effectively an ITV2 spin-off of the real thing. The prospect of something more substantial, however, is back on the agenda after a senior executive at NBC told The Athletic that the US broadcaster — which holds the Premier League’s most lucrative TV deal outside the UK, worth £2 billion over six years — will “continue to push” for matches to be played in the States.
We have been here before, back in 2008, when the Premier League tabled plans for a so-called “39th game”. The idea, to tag an international round onto the existing 38-game season, went down in flames, shot at by fan groups, proposed host countries, Fifa and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Supporter opposition remains the heftiest obstacle to expansion, as the European Super League saga showed, but the landscape has changed since overseas matches were first floated.
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

Are you ready for medieval-core?
No one was more surprised than medieval armourer Matthew Finchen.

Worth the wait This is a beautifully written triumph
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel since 2013's Americanah is a winner

Low-budget indie film Anora wins big at the Oscars
“The more Hollywood changes, the more it remains the same,” writes Ty Burr.

Forget the Trump noisepeace could now be possible
There's much to fixate on, but it's best to judge the President on the substance

Is it the final call for the Heathrow villagers?
Life with the residents whose homes could be destroyed if a third runway touches down

The Fat Badger, London's first invite-only pub
A riotously fun boozer that doesn't officially exist? No wonder celebs are secretly flocking here

Marlon James on why Kingston is Jamaica's beating cultural heart
Whether it’s parties, patties or patois, this Caribbean capital is a non-stop celebration, says the Booker Prize-winning author

The London socialite. His aristocrat killer. And a mother's search for justice
The brutal, ketamine-fuelled killing of a public schoolboy shocked the world. In our new true-crime podcast, we tell the real story

“Last year's Festival was brutal, but we're ready to put it right”
The Guinness Village is, to Cheltenham racegoers, something of a field of dreams.

Me, Marrakech and I: How to ace a solo female trip
I first visited Marrakech with my then-boyfriend in 2004, when I spent my days getting lost in the labyrinthine souks and witnessing snake charmers hypnotise cobras. Over 20 years later, I decided to see how it fared for females going it alone.