No analysis here, just some general information and a colouring-in exercise…
Preseason tours to far-away countries are now a common occurence for Premier League clubs due to high overseas demand of the product that is the Premier League. The product is now well-established in Asia – many teams are now also trying to promote market growth in North America and Africa.
9 out of 20 teams in the League next season are staying put in Europe for their preseason, whilst newly promoted Cardiff and Crystal Palace have no plans to travel out of the UK.
Germany, USA and Hong Kong are among the most popular destinations but even Costa Rica and the Bahamas are on the itineraries this summer.
Anyway here’s a crude colour-filled map of the world illustrating the geographical areas that the current 20 teams have targeted in the alternative race to be the most profitable football club. I’ve arbitrarily split the countries that more than 1 team is going to – not by city or island in case you’re wondering.
2013 Pre-season overseas countries visited per team, according to http://www.premierleague.com
Arsenal: Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Finland
Aston Villa: Germany, Ireland
Cardiff: N/A
Chelsea: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, USA
Crystal Palace: N/A
Everton: USA, Austria
Fulham: Costa Rica, Germany
Hull City: Portugal
Liverpool: Indonesia, Australia, Thailand
Man City: South Africa, Hong Kong, Germany, Finland
Man Utd: Thailand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Sweden
Newcastle Utd: Portugal
Norwich City: USA, Portugal
Southampton: Spain, Austria
Stoke City: USA
Sunderland: Hong Kong
Swansea City: Netherlands,
Tottenham Hotspur: Bahamas, Hong Kong, Monaco
West Brom: Germany, Hungary
West Ham Utd: Ireland, Germany
