Report: Tottenham considering joining Chelsea in US summer tournament

According to a new report from The Athletic, Chelsea are set to be the first Premier League side to join the proposed pre-season tour of the US, and Tottenham are thought to be considering following suit.

The entire landscape of the pre-season period appears to have changed forever now, with top-flight clubs increasingly keen to travel the globe during the summer and enhance their brand in other territories.

Clubs have been travelling to the US during the off-season for a few years now. Now though, those trips could become much more than just one-off friendlies, with a high-profile competition being lined up in the US as reported previously by The Athletic.

The organisers of said competition may have just found the first ‘big six’ team to sign up, too, as Chelsea appear to be on board. It is thought the new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, who hails from the USA, is a big factor in this decision.

It is now believed Chelsea’s involvement will be a “key breakthrough” in luring “other leading teams” to join the tournament, too. At this stage, “exact plans, timings and venues for the competition are still being finalised.”

The report adds that Tottenham Hotspur “are also considering joining the competition.” The North London club spent last summer on a tour of South Korea.

The aim of the proposed competition is for clubs to “expand their fanbases and capitalise on the Premier League’s international appeal.”

According to the report, “more than 60,000 fans” attended games held in the US during pre-season tours for clubs like Arsenal, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid.

Spurs Web Opinion

I miss the days when pre-season friendlies were all about fitness and playing teams you don’t normally face, but now it’s just an exercise in bringing in as much money as possible. I’m all for raising the club’s profile, but the cynic in me can’t help but feel this just sounds like testing the water for the Super League.

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