'We direct those eyeballs to Burnley!' - Co-owner and NFL great JJ Watt hopes to convince new American soccer fans to support his Premier League side
JJ Watt is hoping to attract a whole host of American fans to start supporting Burnley following their promotion to the Premier League.
WHAT HAPPENED? Former NFL star JJ Watt and his wife and ex-USWNT midfielder Kealia became minority investors at Burnley back in May. Following their promotion back to the Premier League, JJ wants the ever-increasing following of soccer to start supporting the Clarets, which was taken over by US consortium ALK Capital in early 2021.
WHAT THEY SAID: JJ told ESPN: «America is craving football content. There's a large group of people that still don't have a great knowledge base, so they're still trying to find their squad. They're still trying to find who they're supposed to support. I think it helps us a lot that more eyeballs come over. We just direct those eyeballs up to Burnley.»
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Burnley were relegated to the Championship in 2022 but bounced back at the first time of asking in 2023, something that was masterminded by manager Vincent Kompany. The Watts' investment comes at a time when a growing number of celebrities and athletes are buying into British football, such as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham and NFL legend Tom Brady has a minority share in Birmingham City. That greater exposure is only likely to be a good thing.
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WHAT NEXT? Burnley were supposed to play Luton Town in the Premier League this weekend but that has been postponed as the Hatters are making alterations to their stadium. Next up for Kompany's men will be Aston Villa on August 27.
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