Serie A To Host Competitive Games in United States

Serie A is Italy’s top-flight football league and back in the 1980s and 1990s it used to be the best football league in the world but as of now that title is between either the Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain. However, it is still one of the best leagues in the world and definitely amongst the top ten best leagues in the world.

Many big European clubs have often played their matches across Europe in pre-season however no club from the top five leagues have opted to play any of their league matches in the United States Of America. The Premier League at one point were discussing the same topic however it did not go ahead since there was major backlash from the fans. The same happened in La Liga where a match between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid was projected to happen in Miami was canceled because of backlash. Now Serie A is hopping on this project and have showcased their intention to host matches in the United States.

Serie A has a lot of American players especially big players like Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and Weston Mckennie to capitalize on when it comes to possibly hosting official matches in the United States Of America. Other sports like NFL have successfully exported their sport and matches to other countries to engage newer markets.

The NFL has held various games from 2007 to 2013 in London, Mexico City, Munich, Berlin, Sao Paulo and Frankfurt. Further NFL games are set to be kept in Madrid, Dublin and Melbourne. This is an example of how a major sport like the NFL has engaged wider audiences however each sport is different in its way and a different way will have to be implemented if needed to host competitive games in the United States.

Statement Of Serie A Commercial And Marketing Director Michele Ciccarese

“We would love to do it. We are working to potentially do it, but there are barriers that we need to overcome with the right strategy and with the support of the clubs, without forgetting that players are players.”

“It should be done in a way that makes sense for the club without forgetting the fans. You cannot play a Milan derby in America because the fans in Italy will get very upset as that game has a big meaning in Italy, so we have to play in a way that is respectful of our audience,” he said.

“It’s always a race to try to be the trendsetter because then the followers come and the trendsetter gets more benefits, more potentially, in terms of revenues. We need approval of the Italian federation, UEFA, then it goes up to FIFA, and then it goes back to the local community.”