Could Increased US Ownership in the EPL Ultimately Signal the End of Relegation?

Friedkin close to sealing the deal

Everton Football Club’s lifeline looks to finally have arrived. After years of struggle and turmoil under the ownership of Egyptian businessman Farhad Moshiri, The Friedkin Group (TFG) is said to have finally agreed a takeover of the English Premier League (EPL) club pending regulatory approval.

When/if this deal gets rubber-stamped, ten of the 20 EPL clubs will be under US ownership, as England’s elite scour the world for ambitious, affluent owners with the means and desire to take their club forward.

if, for example, those American owners start to exert influence on the game’s governing bodies…

The fact that this scramble to find the owners with the deepest pockets has led stateside is not a problem in and of itself, but there is potential for it to become one. If, for example, those American owners start to exert influence on the game’s governing bodies in England – the FA and the Premier League – in particular around rule changes, things could get interesting.

One club, one vote in the EPL

Let’s not forget, in top-level American sports, there is no such thing as promotion and relegation. Teams are not defined as clubs but as franchises, and some move from city to city based on the whim of the owners and where there is demand for a sports franchise.

If, and it remains an if, said American owners of English EPL clubs had an effective voting majority – which is 14 of the 20 clubs on a one-club, one-vote basis – then there would be nothing the others could do to prevent any proposed rule changes.

in US sports, draws are pretty much non-existent

That could, therefore, signal the end of promotion and relegation – the very cornerstone of the English soccer pyramid – and even the prospect of drawn games. In US sports, draws are pretty much non-existent and games that are tied at the end of regular time are invariably decided by overtime or, in the case of MLB (baseball), extra innings.

Two-thirds majority needed

As things stand, this is not an issue. There would need to be another four EPL clubs with American ownership before they would have the ability to vote en bloc and get a two-thirds majority, but once the Friedkin/Everton deal goes through, that day edges ever closer.        

Famous American sports stars such as Tom Brady and LeBron James have also got their foot firmly in the door of the EPL. 

Worth noting at this point is that the sale of the majority stake in Everton, from Moshiri’s Blue Heaven Holdings to TFG, is still technically incomplete. It remains subject to approval by the regulators of the English game – including the EPL, the Football Association (FA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – but appears almost certain to go through.

eight Championship clubs that are either fully or majority-owned by US entities

This is also a good time to remind ourselves that there are no less than eight Championship clubs that are either fully or majority-owned by US entities. These include Leeds United, Burnley, and West Bromwich Albion, who are all among the favorites to get promoted to the EPL this season.

Fourteen is the magic number

If any, or all, were to win promotion and line up in the 2025-26 EPL, that would edge the number ever closer to the magic 14.

Even in League One – the third tier of English soccer – there are five clubs with American ownership, including Birmingham City and Wrexham, whose owners have both declared the EPL as their ultimate destination.

For a full list of EPL and English Football League (EFL) clubs with US ownership see below:

What sticks out most from the above table is the sheer number of clubs in the top four tiers of the pyramid who now trade off the back of US investment. 26 of the 92 are now either majority-owned or wholly owned by US individuals and/or organizations.

This, without a doubt, leaves both the EPL and the EFL – whose voting system differs from the EPL – potentially vulnerable to US influence if those from across the pond opt to stick together and vote accordingly.

More Americanisms in the EPL?

The biggie would, of course, be if the US majority decided to vote en masse to end the principle of promotion and relegation. But there are plenty of other Americanisms that could be added to the English game, such as halftime shows, rotating substitutions, cheerleaders, and some games being played in the US.

Quite how accepting of such changes would English soccer fans be is questionable but, even in the recent past, they have been generally resistant to major change. Never was this more evident than, in 2021, when the so-called “big six” – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur – openly declared an interest in joining a European Super League (ESL).

vociferous protests from English fans that brought an end to the project

The announcement was met with widespread opposition from players, managers, coaches, clubs, UEFA, FIFA, and even some governments, but it was the vociferous protests from English soccer fans that finally ended the project before it had even begun.

Any tampering with the rules, especially core fundamentals like promotion and relegation, would likely be met with similar levels of resistance.

Money talks in elite-level soccer

Much will depend on the proximity of these US owners to the EPL “coalface” or, more pertinently, their remoteness. Those with their finger on the pulse of English soccer will understand its tradition and core values, while those who remain strictly US-based may continue to see it as being ripe for bringing in line with a US sporting ethos.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have already proven that Hollywood and English soccer can work together, after taking over Wrexham:

This sport, at its most elite level, is awash with money, and, as we all know, money talks. If the power brokers and moneymen (and women) can identify ways of making it ever more lucrative and have the ability and will to make it happen, then never underestimate their capacity for ignoring all outside noise.

English soccer fans have long since felt ignored and unloved by the EPL and the big TV companies. They also know that, given the huge sums involved, there’s little they can do about it other than make their voices heard.

If this US “invasion” continues, they may soon have another big fight on their hands.