Liverpool Premier League soccer could be headed to New York City

The Liverpool Football Club is determined to play a Premier League match in New York City, where the team has a sizable fanbase.

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times he’s “determined one day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City.”

However, that plan would have to get past team owner John Henry — who also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball club — and is “not particularly interested in” seeing his soccer team hold a league match in the U.S., according to ESPN.

There are no Premier League matches currently slated to be played outside the U.K. though exhibition games, known as “friendlies,” frequently bring English teams across the pond. Tickets to see Liverpool play Arsenal in a July 5 exhibition in Philadelphia are still available.

Talk about Premier League matches being played stateside were fueled when the Fédération Internationale de Football Association settled an antitrust lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that could allow international squads to compete outside their traditional boundaries.

Werner told the Financial Times he’d like to see the top English teams play games hours apart in Japan, Los Angeles, Brazil and Saudi Arabia as a celebration of Premier League competition.

But he concedes that idea might not go over well with English fans, who may need to be provided financial incentives to travel to the U.S. and support their teams.

Liverpool’s team, nicknamed The Reds, got off to a hot start, but slowed at the end of the Premier League season that ended last month and finished with the team in a disappointing third in the table. First place was claimed by Manchester City, which is affiliated with the New York Football Club that plays at Yankee Stadium.

Several New York City bars open early so Liverpool fans can see games being played in northwest England, which is five hours ahead of the East Coast.

The East Village’s 11th Street Bar is often packed with supporters including the LFNYC. That group calls itself “the oldest Liverpool FC Supporters Club in the United States.”

____