Tuesday: The Premier League announced its inaugural Premier League Summer Series that will see 6 of its teams travel stateside this July and Philadelphia will be the place to be if you want to see them all!
The Premier League is coming to Philadelphia
While the lineup of English clubs traveling to America might not match up to the likes of Manchester United or Liverpool in a global popularity contest, the group of teams coming over offers a number of clubs that have been making waves as of late in the Premier League, with Newcastle, Aston Villa, Brighton, Brentford, and Fulham all looking to end the season in the PL’s top 10.
Of the 9 games set to take place during the English Clubs’ East Coast Summer Tour, 3 will be held in the birthplace of the United States in Philadelphia, PA at Lincoln Financial Field. This means Philadelphia is also the only stop on the tour that will get a chance to see all 6 clubs involved take the field.
The first match will take place on Saturday July 22nd with Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion at 7pm. The action will be followed up the next day with Fulham Vs Brentford at 3pm, and the weekend wrapping up with Newcastle Vs Aston Villa at 7pm.
The wonderkid (maybe) comes home
Of those matchups, the most notable for fans in Philly and surrounding areas is likely to be Chelsea Vs Brighton & Hove Albion, with this stop being a homecoming of sorts to USMNT and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, product of Hershey, PA.
It is important to note that the anticipation surrounding this matchup could vary a bit if Pulisic does see a highly-rumored move away from Chelsea come his way this summer with the Transfer Window opening in early June.
Premier League Summer Series Schedule
Another match that might peak the interest of American fans is Fulham vs Brentford on Sunday, with USMNT World Cup participants Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson playing pivotal roles for Fulham this season. The full schedule breakdown for all games and cities can be seen below.
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Saturday July 22
Match 1: Chelsea vs Brighton – 7pm ET at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Sunday July 23
Match 2: Fulham vs Brentford – 4pm ET at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Match 3: Newcastle vs Aston Villa – 7pm ET at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
ATLANTA, GA
Wednesday July 26
Match 4: Brentford vs Brighton – 5:30pm ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Match 5: Chelsea vs Newcastle – 8:15pm ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
ORLANDO, FL
Wednesday July 26
Match 6: Fulham vs Aston Villa – 7pm ET at Exploria Stadium, Orlando
HARRISON, NJ
Friday July 28
Match 7: Brighton vs Newcastle – 7:30pm ET at Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
LANDOVER, MD
Sunday July 30
Match 8: Aston Villa vs Brentford – 12pm ET at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Match 9: Chelsea vs Fulham – 2:45pm ET at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
While Summer in America typically brings a bit of involuntary rehabilitation time from professional sports with NBA, NFL, and NHL all breaking for the off-season, the two-day stretch in July means soccer in Philadelphia will be at the forefront.
Philadelphia will be a hotbed of Summer Soccer
Not only will Lincoln Financial Field host hundreds of thousands of soccer fans throughout a weekend in July, just down the road in Chester, the Philadelphia Union will be participating in an inaugural competition of their own in the Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX sides.
Philadelphia’s first game of the competition will take place at Subaru Park on July 22nd against Tijuana at a time TBD. Hopefully, organizers can get the scheduling right to allow fans that want to attend both matches the opportunity to do so. The League’s Cup group stage matches being held in Chester, PA between Union, Tijuana, and Queretaro are scheduled to take place as followed
7/22: Union vs. Tijuana (Time TBD)
7/26: Union vs. Queretaro (Time TBD)
7/30: Tijuana vs. Queretaro (Time TBD)
Fans interest in attending the Premier League Summer Series in Philadelphia or any of the other cities involved can complete a form via the Premier League’s Website which will grant you early access to a priority booking window for tickets, and to stay up to date on news and updates throughout the Summer Series.
Shaun Brooks/Actionplus/Icon Sportswire
