The Premier League has went over to the United States, in a hyped “friendly match” series which will bring publicity to the clubs. Unlike previous years where the games were poorly attended and in smaller stadiums, fans packed the stadiums anticipating their favorite players like Enzo Fernandez and Marcus Rashford. This is continuing the exponential growth of the game of soccer iin the United States and gets people buzzing.

These weren’t just smaller, or newly promoted teams like Burnley or Luton Town. These were teams that have legit expectations this year like Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford, Newcastle United, and Brentford. So a good chunk of the teams that could potentially be in the top half of the table, plus European competititon aspirations. These friendly matches have the reputation to be a boring, tune up match just so the coaches can see what they have in their bench and reserves. But really, it wasn’t like that. I’m not saying they put their whole starting eleven out there but they put out a decent chunk of their starters, which made the games more interesting.

In terms of stadiums they played in some interesting places such as Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago and more. These were where National Football League (NFL) teams usually play and if you looked at the crowds, you would think there was an NFL game going on with how much people packed the turnstiles. According to Worldsoccertalk.com the average attendance for the games were 44,000 sold tickets per game. These were in 50,000+ capacity stadiums. And the fan atmosphere really showed as both sides were loud and into the game.

I actually went to one of these games on August 2nd, it may not have been the actual Premier League Summer Series but I believe it deserves a mention. My favorite club Borussia Dortmund was holding a game in Chicago against Premier League side Chelsea FC. From the beginning it wasn’t all boring outside with block parties being held by both sides, giving out tons of merchandise and street vendors selling food. After we went through the gates it was all fun and games as the Dortmund side was taking over the game. Being the twelfth man for the yellow and black. The game was a very intense, tight, close match with both teams looking hungry and fighting for every inch as the clock goes by. It ended up being a 1-1 draw with quick goals by both teams at the end of stoppage. 

This match showed that the beautiful game of soccer is continuing to grow in popularity, and shows that the United States deserves more big clubs to come play in the big stadiums. There is a big fanbase for these teams and most fans want to see them. Even though they may play in Europe, their love and passion for the club they support will forever be there within. I’m very excited for the future of United States soccer with these matches, and the tournaments we will be hosting very soon!