US stadiums to host first Premier League Summer Series

Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium is among the five US venues that will host the first Premier League Summer Series pre-season tournament to be held in North America.

Six clubs, including Chelsea and Newcastle United, will feature in nine games to be played in July.

Two games will be played at the Falcons’ 73,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with three scheduled for Lincoln Financial Field, the 68,000-seat home of the Philadelphia Eagles. The third NFL venue to be utilised is the Washington Commanders’ 82,000-capacity FedEx Field.

Two Major League Soccer stadiums, Orlando City’s Exploria Stadium and New York Red Bulls’ Red Bull Arena in New Jersey, will also host matches.

Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton and Fulham are the other clubs taking part.

Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be bringing six clubs to the USA in July for the first-ever Premier League Summer Series.

“Our clubs have incredible supporters in the US, who passionately follow their teams throughout the season.

“We have seen this dedication first-hand from the tens of thousands who have attended our Mornings Live fan events and are excited to be building on this by bringing live Premier League action to five cities this summer.

“We are currently enjoying one of the most competitive Premier League seasons of all time at both ends of the table and I am sure we will see some thrilling matches during the tournament.”

The tournament builds on the success of the eight Premier League Mornings Live fan festival events the Premier League and its broadcast partner NBC Sports have hosted in multiple US cities since 2018. These events have seen more than 60,000 fans attend live match screenings in iconic locations.

The Premier League has previously hosted pre-season matches via the Premier League Asia Trophy. This biennial tournament launched in 2003, with nine editions taking place in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.