The Premier League and the Major League Soccer could be teaming up to create the first official Anglo-American cup competition. The Anglo-American Cup would involve the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup, along with the winners of the MLS and the U.S. Open Cup.
This joint venture between the Premier League and Major League Soccer is seen as another sign of the flourishing relationship between the pair. The United States have been a gracious host to top English clubs for preseason preparations in the past decade. The Anglo-American Cup is set to raise the level of competition and could also foster a new international rivalry between the United States and England.
The soccer market has grown exponentially in the U.S., which is partly because of the availability of on-demand access to European competitions such as the Premier League. As the Daily Mail reported , Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber met with the FA chief executive Martin Glenn in London at Soccerex.
“We have been talking to the Premier League about doing some sort of official competition as opposed to just having clubs come over to the country on a random basis playing in a tournament that takes place every summer. I would love to find a way that we could play our cup champion and our league champion against an FA Cup and league champion in a tournament and play it in New York City every year.”
Garber continued, “If not every year, then every four years.”
The logistics of the competition are yet to be finalized, and criticism has already been leveled towards the competition. However, the commissioner relayed his excitement of the prospect of the Anglo-American Cup.
English imports have already played their part in developing the growth of Major League Soccer as a respectable league within the international soccer community. David Beckham brought in record revenues for the league, and now former Premier League greats such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are also flying the flag for England in the MLS.
The Anglo-American Cup could become the beginning of a fledgling event between the Premier League and Major League Soccer but, with an already-condensed fixture list, English clubs would most likely treat the competition as a low priority, especially given the travel and the scheduling.
Could the Anglo-American Cup become a success despite the logistical challenges it would provide for both Premier League and Major League Soccer teams?
[Photo by Laurence Griffiths, Victor Decolongon and Scott Halleran / Getty Images]
