When the top two teams in the Premier League go at each other this weekend, America can’t lose. Arsenal and Liverpool, like AC Milan, Roma, Marseille, Lyon, Chelsea and (for now) Manchester United, are both US-owned. In 1994, when the nation last hosted the World Cup, it didn’t even have a domestic league. When it next does so in 2026, it should have a major proprietorial role in at least three European ones. The planet’s favourite game is being steered to a considerable extent from American boardrooms.
當兩支英超頂級球隊在本周末交鋒時,美國怎么都不會輸。阿森納和利物浦——就像AC米蘭、羅馬、馬賽、里昂、切爾西和(就目前而言)曼聯一樣——都是美資擁有的。1994年,當美國上次主辦世界杯時,它甚至沒有國內聯賽。當它在2026年再次主辦世界杯時,它應該在至少三個歐洲國內聯賽扮演主要的所有權角色。全球最受歡迎的球類運動在很大程度上受到美國董事會的指導。