Premier League chief executive Richard Masters reveals stance on playing matches abroad… after LaLiga president Javier Tebas announced plans to stage a Spanish game in the USA

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters reveals stance on playing matches abroad… after LaLiga president Javier Tebas announced plans to stage a Spanish game in the USA

  • Masters has spoken on whether Premier League games could be played abroad
  • LaLiga chief Javier Tebas wants to take a Spanish match to the USA in the future
  • Tottenham are looking to torpedo Arsenal’s title chances… but which Spurs side will turn up in this massive derby? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has given his view on the possibility of top flight matches being played abroad in the future.

The topic has been brought into the spotlight this week after LaLiga president Javier Tebas revealed that he is planning to stage a Spanish game in the USA in the 2025-26 season.

With one major European league raising the option of playing matches overseas, the question was then put to Masters as to whether the Premier League could follow suit.

Speaking at the 48th European Leagues General Assembly press conference in London on Friday, Masters said: ‘The door looks ajar for matches abroad. It is not part of our current plans.’

While Masters did not rule out moving matches abroad, he was non-committal when confirming whether it would happen, in sharp contrast to Tebas who was adamant that a Spanish match would be played in the USA in the near future.

Premier League CEO Richard Masters (pictured) has said the ‘door looks ajar’ for matches to be played abroad

LaLiga president Javier Tebas (pictured) has said he wants to stage a Spanish game in the USA

‘I think it could be in the 2025-26 season, but La Liga will play official matches abroad,’ he told Spanish newspaper Expansion.

‘An official match in the U.S. will strengthen our position in the North American market, which is the second market for La Liga after Spain.

‘Other very competitive leagues are coming so we cannot always do the same thing, but we cannot allow them to overtake us.’

This is not the first time that Tebas has wanted to take a match over to the US as he also expressed his desire to take a clash between Barcelona and Girona to the States in 2018.

However, that hit a stumbling block when FIFA objected, with its council resolving that ‘official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective member association’.

FIFA is now deliberating its current rules, and they could be amended to give teams freedom to play abroad in the future.

The Premier League explored the possibility of playing a 39th game overseas back in 2008.

But this proposal was dropped following pressure from FIFA and backlash from supporters. 


Source From: Football | Mail Online

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