While I was quietly recovering from a bout of shingles last week — the kind of illness I’d previously only associated with “older people” — I found unexpected joy in a charming neighbourhood street party.
There were lime trees overhead, eggs flying through the air in joyful chaos, and even a slow bike race that celebrated balance and control over speed.
It was a reminder that sport’s magic isn’t confined to elite arenas — it thrives anywhere people come together.
But far from the leafy streets of suburbia, football is preparing for a very different kind of transformation — one that could reshape its global identity forever.
Chelsea and City’s American Rehearsal Is Just the Beginning
On Monday night, Chelsea kicked off their Club World Cup campaign against LAFC under the lights of Atlanta’s awe-inspiring Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Manchester City follow suit Wednesday, playing Wydad AC of Morocco in Philadelphia — where even the local train station has been renamed in homage to the club’s sponsors.
And while it might feel like a novelty for now, these matches are laying the groundwork for a much bigger shift: Premier League games played regularly in the United States.
The American Takeover of English Football Moves Closer
The growing presence of American ownership in the Premier League isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s edging ever closer to a tipping point.
With Leeds United and Burnley returning to the top flight — both backed by American investors — the number of American-owned Premier League clubs has risen to 11.
If three of the likely promotion contenders next season also go up — clubs like Norwich, West Brom, or even Wrexham — that number could soon hit 14.
Why does 14 matter? That’s the magic number needed for American stakeholders to hold the voting power required to push through major changes in the league’s structure — like playing official matches overseas.
Plans to Export Premier League Fixtures Are Gaining Steam
Fenway Sports Group chairman Tom Werner recently floated what might have once seemed like a wild fantasy.
He wants to host Premier League matches in cities across the world on the same day — from Tokyo to LA, Rio to Riyadh — turning a regular league weekend into a global football festival.
But the idea isn’t new. Richard Scudamore first proposed the controversial “39th Game” back in 2008.
Fans rejected it then, but the appetite for expansion has only grown among owners with American business sensibilities.
The Real Danger: A Closed League That Locks Out Competition
Perhaps even more worrying than global fixtures is the spectre of a closed Premier League — no promotion, no relegation.
It’s a model more in line with American sports, where franchises are protected from failure and investment risk is minimized.
While the current Premier League already shows signs of this trend — with many promoted teams heading straight back down — formalizing it would devastate the lower leagues and dismantle the rich pyramid structure that makes English football so dynamic.
Where’s the Regulator We Were Promised?
There was once real hope that an Independent Regulator would act as a safeguard — protecting fans from losing matches to far-off cities and shielding the integrity of domestic competition.
But the longer the legislation drags through Parliament, the more diluted its purpose seems to become.
With Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, an Arsenal supporter, reportedly receptive to Premier League lobbying, confidence in regulatory action is fading.
Critics fear that what fans get instead is a “poodle” — all bark, no bite.
They Tried Before, and They’ll Try Again
We’ve been here before. The Super League debacle saw fans force the so-called Big Six — United, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Spurs — into a humiliating retreat.
But insiders like Gary Neville warned back then: they’ll be back.
And they are. This time, they’re moving more subtly.
By easing fans into the idea with Club World Cup games on American soil, they’re normalising what once would have been unthinkable — domestic league matches held abroad.
McIlroy Looks Lost in His Post-Masters Moment
Switching gears to golf, Rory McIlroy is facing an existential moment of his own.
After finally clinching the elusive Masters title in April, something in him seems to have shifted — and not necessarily in a good way.
At the US Open, his frustrations boiled over. A club thrown down the fairway, a tee box smashed.
Then came the comment: “I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do.” Maybe so.
But joy, hunger, that famous spark — all seem momentarily absent.
With the Open at Portrush just around the corner, fans can only hope he rediscovers that fire in time.
Oakmont Delivers Pure Drama in US Open Finale
Despite McIlroy’s mood, Sunday’s final round at Oakmont was a spectacle.
The tough Pennsylvania course, paired with unpredictable weather, produced some of the most dramatic golf seen in recent memory.
Bob MacIntyre, heartbreakingly close to glory, still came out looking like a future star. And it was JJ Spaun’s sensational putt that brought the curtain down on an unforgettable tournament.
Sometimes the Best Sport Happens on Your Street
Back to that street party under the lime trees — the egg toss and slow bike race may not have made headlines, but they captured something that sport at any level should never lose: joy, humour, community.
And perhaps, as elite football risks chasing profits around the globe, that’s the part most at risk of being forgotten.