City looking across Atlantic
Garry Cook’s plans for world domination appear to involve an invasion of the United States.
A summer tour of the States looks increasingly likely, with renewed talk springing up once again. While this would be great news for City supporters over here, there simply aren’t that many of us at this point in time.
It will be interesting to see what kind of crowds City would draw. Barcelona and Chelsea staged successful US tours last summer, playing in front of big crowds in supersized NFL stadiums. However, Manchester City is hardly a household name over here, so it’s difficult to imagine 93,000 (or even 65,000) people buying tickets to watch The World’s Richest Club take on their local Major League Soccer side.
One thing working in City’s favor is the timing of the possible tour. American interest in the world’s game spikes every four years, when sports fans who normally don’t pay attention to football find themselves following the Yanks in the World Cup. If the US turns in a performance in South Africa like what we saw in last summer’s Confederations Cup or the 2002 World Cup (instead of poor showings like in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups), this could be great news for City. Suddenly the club is being put on prominent display in front of large numbers of recent football converts looking for a club to support.
More interesting — at least from a longterm perspective — is the talk of City buying an MLS franchise.
The Canadian Press reports Cook met with MLS commissioner Don Garber on Monday. MLS had been eyeing partnerships with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, but now the Premier League appears to have caught their attentions.
A partnership would make a great deal of sense for both parties. MLS would benefit from the cash injection, as well as the young talent and coaching, training, and development expertise that undoubtedly would be brought to a City-owned MLS club. Anyone who has watched an MLS match will tell you that anything bringing some creativity to the boring, direct style of play plaguing the league would be a welcome relief.
For City, an MLS franchise would give the club an important inroad into one of the most lucrative emerging markets in world football, both in terms of fans and young talent. As Fulham and Everton supporters can tell you, the US is beginning to churn out much more than top-class goalkeepers, as had been the case previously. The profile of the sport continues to rise Stateside, and it’s only a matter of time until one of the many elite athletes produced in America decides The Beautiful Game is his game.
With City looking to attract the best young talent in the world, having a base of operations in the Western Hemisphere would be a very wise move indeed.
