UEFA consider organizing Champions League matches in the United States
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin admitted that some Champions League could be staged in the United States in years to come.
The Champions League could go stateside in the near future with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin admitting that European football’s governing body are contemplating the possibility of staging some of the tournament’s game to other countries - including the United States.
In an interview with Roger Bennett for Men In Blazers, the UEFA president revealed that it is possible that certain Champions League games, possibly even the final, could be played in the United States from 2025 onwards.
“It’s possible. We started discussing it, but then, one year it was the World Cup, 2024 is the Euros, this year [the Champions League final] will be played in Istanbul, in 2024 is in London and in 2025 in Munich. And after that, let’s see. It is possible, it is possible (that the Champions League final will one day be held in the United States),” Ceferin explained.
For Ceferin and UEFA, the US is an important market
During his talk with Men In Blazers, Ceferin, recognized that soccer, especially the Champions League, is gaining great relevance in the United States - largely due to the commercialization given to major sports competitions.
“Football is extremely popular in the United States these days. Europeans are ready to pay this amount for the best, this amount for something a bit less and this amount for even less. Americans are ready to this amount for the best and nothing for the rest. So they will follow European football like basketball lovers in Europe follow the NBA. With the American national team, the more players who are playing in Europe, the better the USMNT will be.
“It is a very important promising market for the future. What happens is that we are selling the rights very well. Sponsorship is regular for now from the United States, but the marketing is completely different from that of Europe. Americans are more talented for that than we are,” Ceferin added.
Finally, Ceferin defended his intention to consider the United States as a future host for the Champions League final and cited US television audience figures for recent European international tournaments which compared favourably to those who followed the NBA finals and even equalling those who watched the Super Bowl.
“What shocked me actually was that our Euro finals, national team finals was watched by more people in the United States than the NBA finals. What shocked me is that in 30 Euro games, every viewership was a Super Bowl viewership. So I think we’re doing well! The problem is the time difference, because if you play Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at 3 o’clock or noon in LA, it’s a problem for the Pacific part,” concluded the UEFA president.