"All for it" - Controversial Birmingham City view issued on much-mooted Wrexham clash in USA | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit has given his verdict on the prospect of playing future home games in the United States

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City CEO Garry Cook has claimed that a game against Wrexham in the USA would be a great idea - although has doubted the possibility of that ever happening competitively due to the assumed stance of the EFL.

The two sides met at St. Andrew’s last Monday to a lot of fanfare due to the celebrity attention that both clubs have earned through their ownership structures.

Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds co-own the Welsh side, with NFL legend Tom Brady a minority investor at Birmingham.

Ex-England international star David Beckham was also in attendance for City's 3-1 win, and whilst St. Andrew's was packed to the rafters, there was chatter before the season began that the match could feasibly be played on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, due to the status of the ownership groups of the two sides.

That did not end up happening, but the aforementioned Cook believes that it would have been a good idea to take the match away from home spectators and play it abroad.

"Well personally I think that is a great idea, but I think the EFL wouldn't see it that way, and I think the history and tradition of our sport and our league tries to ensure that that doesn't happen,” Cook told the BBC.

"That doesn't stop making it a global game even though you're playing here in Birmingham."

Supporters view of Birmingham clashes abroad

When asked about the possibility of the club playing abroad, FLW’sBirmingham fan pundit Mike Gibbs admitted that he’d be open to the idea.

While he expects most supporters to be against it, he feels that any opportunity to potentially generate revenue and grow the club’s image should be considered.

“I think this is one where my thought process probably differs from most fans,” Gibbs told Football League World.

“I’ve not really got an issue with a game being played outside of the UK, if it generates revenue and generates brand awareness.

“I don’t necessarily see a problem.

“We play a lot of games every single year, it’s not as if fans are really missing out on a chance to go and watch them, they’ve got lots of other chances to do it.

“I’m not really against it.

“Like I say, if it drives revenue, if it drives brand awareness I’m kind of all for it, but I know I’m probably in the minority when I say that.”

Birmingham City league position

Birmingham moved into second in the table with their win over Wrexham on Monday evening.

Goals from Jay Stansfield and Tomoki Iwata sealed an important three points at home against potential promotion rivals.

Chris Davies’ side have now won four of their opening five games, with 13 points from a possible 15.

Next up for the Blues is a trip to face Rotherham United on Saturday in a 3pm kick-off.

Birmingham City match abroad unlikely to happen anytime soon

As Cook alludes to, the EFL are unlikely to sanction any club from playing a competitive game abroad in the near future.

But the two teams could easily face each other in a pre-season friendly in the United States, with more and more clubs using that period of the year to gain exposure in that side of the world.

It is a divisive topic, with a lot of supporters extremely against the idea due to the history of playing home games in their own home ground, which is very understandable.

However, clubs are looking to maximise profits, and if they believe this can make money then they will be chasing this goal until it is either achieved or shut down for good.