America’s biggest baseball league, MLB, wants to expand to Europe.
MLB has announced that he wants to increase the Europeans’ interest in the sport, reports the U.S. news media Associated Press.
The expansion bid begins with two games in London as the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs battle it out over the Midsummer weekend.
“We have identified Britain, and London in particular, as our best springboard to Europe,” said MLB’s operations and strategy manager Chris Marinak According to the Associated Press.
Among European countries, MLB gets the most revenue from Britain by selling TV rights and fan products, according to the Associated Press. The league felt European playing fields already in 2019, but the pandemic put a damper on the cart.
Four however, a year ago’s visit to Europe seems to have sparked interest, so the conquest of the continent will now continue. According to the Associated Press, the number of followers on MLB’s European social media channels has tripled since 2019.
“We believe that Britain offers a good model for the growth of the European market,” said Marinak.
The New York Yankees have announced that they also want to play in France, where the league is heading next through London in 2025. MLB has also hinted at the possibility of playing in Germany.
Marinak admits that rekindling European interest would require a local star player in the league. This happened, for example, in Japan, when a player playing for the Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani increased the market value of MLB in his country.
Baseball is also extremely popular in, for example, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, where many of MLB’s farm leagues also operate.
However, without the European superstars, MLB’s focus is now on the weekend games at the London stadium, writes the Associated Press.
“We are optimistic that this is the next step in the journey towards linking MLB with Britain and the rest of Europe,” said Marinak.
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