I’m a soccer (as we call it in the U.S.) fan. Some of you may already be aware of this. I’m not the fan that will ignore everything and everyone else in order to watch a game on TV or go to a live event. When I want to watch a sporting event, then it’s definitely soccer. One of the nice things about this game is that it is year-long. When the European season is over, the U.S. season is picking up steam. Plus, there’s all of these extra competitions that happen every few years(e.g. World Cup). This year, it’s the Women’s World Cup. The last two (2015, 2019) were won by the U.S. It begins this week on the other side of the planet, Australia and New Zealand. I will of course be cheering for the U.S. to make an unprecedented “three-peat”. But it’s not the only thing going on.

Just past the start of the Women’s World Cup, a little competition, actually just some preseason games, made into a “competition”, will be running simultaneously. Six Premiere League teams will cross the Atlantic to hold this cup race for an American audience. I feel confident that tickets will sell out instantly(they are) and of course they’re being broadcast by NBC here in the U.S. and will most likely own their time-slots.

When will these preseason games be played? Well, it is the middle of the summer so we can expect them to be played, most likely, in the evening. What about in “Oceania”? Well, the U.S. will play their first game on the 21st, against Vietnam. It will be at 9 pm Eastern time, which means, late Saturday afternoon in New Zealand (17 hours ahead). Here’s a schedule for the group stage.

I guess I’ll get to the point and ask the inevitable;e question on whether the U.S. women’s team will be complaining, as usual, about their paychecks for [articipating in the World Cup. Yes, even though they negotiated their own contracts before, it did not stop them from steaming Unfair, because the men’s team, even though they didn’t come close to winning, made more money per player than the women.

Now, with the games being played in Asia, basically, are they going to be dependent on Asian country viewership to keep the ratings up as the English probably win every demo while they are here for a week? I wonder if we’ll even hear about it. I have to think that Fox, who’s airing the World Cup is thinking about their U.S. ratings as they attempt to sell advertising and NBC? They’re licking their lips knowing that their “cup” competition will be a huge hit here.