It’s already almost the middle of June and the disappointing news for fans of the English Premier League in America is that only two English sides have announced preseason friendly tours to the United States thus far: Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Chelsea will be playing three matches in the States, while Aston Villa – so far – will play just one here (and another one across the border in Canada). All three Chelsea matches will be played in California in July, while Villa takes on Columbus in Ohio, also in July.
In previous years, we’ve had many more teams visit such as Everton, Fulham, Sunderland, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Many of the English teams are turning their backs on America and heading East instead. Man United, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Fulham are heading to the Far East, while Tottenham Hotspur will be playing friendlies in South Africa. Arsenal, meanwhile, will be playing in the annual Ajax Tournament in Holland during August.
Of course, there’s still plenty of time for tours to be announced for the United States. But, at this rate, it looks likely that the Premier League clubs are more interested in making money in China than the U.S.
PS – I’ve finally returned from my weeklong trip from a trade show in Orlando, so I’ll be blogging more often now through the summer months.
