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 out about whether Premier League matches can be played abroad
- LaLiga chief Javier Tebas wants to bring a Spanish match to the US in the future
- Tottenham are looking to torpedo Arsenal’s title chances… but which Spurs team will feature in this mammoth derby? Listen to the It all starts! podcast
Premier League CEO Richard Masters has given his view on the possibility of top matches being played abroad in the future.
The topic was highlighted this week after LaLiga president Javier Tebas revealed he plans to host a Spanish match in the US in the 2025-2026 season.
When a major European league suggested the possibility of playing matches abroad, Masters was subsequently asked whether the Premier League could follow suit.
Masters said on Friday during the 48th press conference of the General Assembly of the European League in London: ‘The door is 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 this would happen, in stark contrast to Tebas who was adamant that a Spanish match would be played in the US in the near future.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters (pictured) has said the door is ajar on matches being played abroad
LaLiga president Javier Tebas (pictured) has said he wants to organize a Spanish match in the US
“I think it could happen in the 2025-2026 season, but La Liga will play official matches abroad,” he told Spanish newspaper Expansion.
‘An official match in the US will strengthen our position in the North American market, the second market for La Liga after Spain.
“There are more highly competitive leagues to come, so we can’t always do the same thing, but we can’t let them overtake us.”
This isn’t the first time Tebas has wanted to transfer a match to the US, as he also expressed his desire to bring a Barcelona vs. Girona match to the United States in 2018.
However, that hit a stumbling block when FIFA objected, with the council deciding that ‘official competition matches must be played in the territory of the relevant member association’.
FIFA is now discussing the current rules, and these could be changed to give teams the freedom to play abroad in the future.
The Premier League explored the possibility of playing a 39th match abroad in 2008.
But this proposal was dropped after pressure from FIFA and opposition from supporters.