High-ranking 2026 World Cup executive believes Premier League games could be staged in United States and makes NFL comparison

• Executive wants US to host Premier League games
• Idea was initially proposed in 2008
• NFL already plays games in other countries

WHAT HAPPENED? New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, who is bidding to host the 2026 World Cup final in his state, believes the English top-flight should host matches across the ocean and is confident clubs would benefit from the idea.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I would assume that Man United and Arsenal view this as a good brand, putting your best players out there, 82,000 fans in New York/New Jersey," he told reporters. "I’d love to think that it would happen. I tell you what’s a good model, the NFL. As you all know, they play real games in Europe with great success. I’m a New England Patriots fan and they are playing the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt in November. The stadium is not that big, only 55,000 seats, and they had demand for 700,000 tickets.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The idea of Premier League matches being held in other countries has been floated around several times over the years, but fans have not been supportive of such proposals. In 2008, the then-Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore suggested that a 39th game of the season could be played outside of England, but the idea was soon scrapped.

American football has had no such issues, though, as the NFL has been staging games outside of the United States every year since 2007.

IN A PHOTO:

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WHAT NEXT FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE? The new season in England will start with a match between newly-promoted Burnley and reigning champions Manchester City on August 11.