Chelsea’s American owner Todd Boehly has suggested a Premier League All-Star game, here is why and how it would work
Todd Boehly proposed for the Premier League to start an All-Star game, similar to how it is done in American sports but his idea has been met with widespread resistance.
The American owner of Chelsea said, “Why isn’t there an All-Star game? So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League.”
As expected, it has not been received well by the majority of the football world but perhaps a more analytical look at the statement with an open mind would prove that a Premier League All-Star game isn’t a bad idea.
Todd Boehly’s grand plan for English football
It is important to note that the idea of an All-Star is not exactly unique to Todd Boehly but the 48-year-old businessman has gone viral for it so here we are.
Boehly basically wants an American-style All-Star game in which the best players in the league form two teams and play against each other in an exhibition.
Of course, the motivation here is money as Boehly himself said, “People are talking about more money for the pyramid, in the MLB All-Star game this year we made 200m dollars from a Monday and a Tuesday.”
But here are other great reasons for the Premier League to seriously consider going down that route and starting an All-Star game.
Why the Premier League could use an All-Star game
The cold hard truth is that football is no longer as exciting as it used to be, even the most die-hard fans can admit this.
Lifelong football man and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has been trying to optimise the sport for excitement for years now with some admittedly outlandish ideas to no avail.
An All-Star game is a perfect opportunity to breathe fresh excitement into the beautiful game without altering it.
The idea of the best players in the best league in the world playing together and against one another in a game once a year.
It would be a great side attraction for the fans and the players and even draw more viewership to the Premier League as it has done in American sports where All-Star events have sort of developed lives of their own separate from the league.
How would it work?
Boehly’s suggestions ended on the surface level and for now, all we know is that the Premier League can be split into two conferences, North and South.
But to develop functionality for the All-Star game would require a bit more thought which ex-Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster has done.
Foster proposes that the potential All-Star game should replace the Community Shield which would solve the opposition argument; “there are too many games already”.
He wants fans to vote for the best player in each conference as the team captains who in turn select the teams.
And the best idea Foster put forward is to give the money to whatever charities or causes selected by the winning team, a win-win situation.
Why everyone opposes the All-Star idea
The uproar from Premier League fans, ex-players and even coaches against the idea is majorly because of who proposed it and how it was done.
But if you’re going to shoot the messenger, at least receive the message first, a Premier League All-Star game would work out well for all involved, not just Todd Boehly.
It is understandable that the Premier League folk found Boehly’s comments condescending, his words; “Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports,” could have been better phrased.
English football stakeholders would not be keen on taking advice from an American with little knowledge of the sport he only recently just bought into, that much is true.
But it is necessary to overlook Boehly’s classic American ignorance and braggadocious obnoxiousness and take the message for what it is, a good addition to an already great product.
Pulse
