LET’S TAKE LEAGUE AROUND WORLD!
MILLWALL chief executive Andy Ambler believes the Football League must consider the idea of playing matches abroad.
The New Den boss says that with the heightened number of foreign ownership in place, League officials are missing a trick – and believes that by selling rights to games overseas, the Championship can become a global brand.
Ambler was speaking at the draw for the FA Cup third qualifying round at Wembley on Monday.
Potential
The draw came 12 hours after the stadium hosted the NFL match between Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders – and Ambler says the Football League must look to sell themselves while the Premier League continue to rule out the controversial ‘39th game’ idea.
Ambler says all avenues must be explored to maximise the League’s potential.
He told The Football League Paper: “At Championship level in particular, I think we need to realise that our product is exceptional.
“We have arguably the most talked-about game anywhere in the play-off final – certainly the richest game going.
“I just wonder if there’s an argument for us to take the Football League around the world.Why not?
“The Premier League couldn’t get acceptance for the 39th game – it’s a radical idea and fans perhaps wouldn’t like it.
“However, we now have owners from all around the world. The model is changing.
“You have got clubs associated with different countries and cities. It has to be worth exploring.
“I’m looking at other sports and asking how they are expanding. Could Millwall play Bournemouth in Boston, where our owner is from? Once a season say? I could see it happening and flourishing.
“Technology means it would be easy to beam back games into stadiums so the fans don’t have to travel or miss out.”
Ambler believes the League now has worldwide appeal with the Championship such a multi-cultural division. He added:“There is a lot of interest from so many different counties, there are a lot more foreign players in our competition than before – the Championship in particular holds interest in all corners of the world.
“There seems to be a big interest from everywhere now.
“The bigger picture for me would be taking the Football League to a global audience.”