MLS urges borders to be protected to block foreign leagues

As foreign leagues inch closer to playing competitively in the United States, MLS commission Don Garber is playing defense. As the top soccer division in the United States, Major League Soccer has worked to grow its domestic audience. The principal competition has always been the domestic and continental leagues in Europe. These teams in the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga have regularly played friendlies in the United States. However, the looming possibility of playing meaningful fixtures in the United States is enough to have Garber worried.

“I hear that the Premier League is interested and that the fans aren’t in support of it,” Garber said. “It’s up to them. I for one know the value of a regular season game, I know what it means to fans, I know what sovereignty means – that football is based around borders. I believe in the importance of those borders.”

In this case, Garber is correct. Premier League supporters have been vocal in their disapproval of taking a competitive contest out from a team’s 38-game schedule and dropping it in the United States. From the standpoint of competition, that Premier League team is losing a home game. However, and perhaps more importantly, the fans would suffer because they cannot attend a game. One team out of 20 would play 18 home games, while the other teams would play 19.

The argument in favor of the Premier League or any other domestic competition in Europe centers around money. A competitive game in the United States would grow audiences to develop future revenue. Teams and leagues would benefit from ticket sales that would likely be higher in the United States, depending on which teams play and where the game is.

Garber defending borders for foreign leagues is in tune with previous comments

For MLS, foreign leagues playing in the United States run the risk of taking interest away from the American top flight. Even though MLS has a largely different calendar compared to…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/mls-urges-borders-to-be-protected-to-block-foreign-leagues/

Author : Kyle Fansler

Publish date : 2024-10-21 16:10:15

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