Everton have picked the perfect time to return to the USA and their trip to Minnesota will present travelling Blues fans to experience an intimate modern football stadium just two years before their own team’s scheduled move to Bramley-Moore Dock. That’s the verdict of Englishman abroad Callum Williams, originally from Birmingham but now lead play-by-play broadcaster for Minnesota United who will host Frank Lampard’s side tonight in the second game of their US tour in the build-up to the 2022/23 season.
Everton’s 2022 US pre-season activity and the recent expansion of the club’s Official Supporters’ Club programme in the US are major elements of their international strategy. The Blues were beaten 2-0 by Premier League rivals Arsenal in Baltimore on Saturday but ahead of their match against Everton legend Adrian Heath’s Major League Soccer outfit at their Allianz Field home ground, Williams believes their timing is spot-on.
He told the ECHO: “The sport is growing very quickly here, it will be interesting to see where it will be in 10 years’ time. If Everton are looking for increased exposure and to work the market it’s the perfect time to come. Both the US and Canada have qualified for the World Cup in Qatar later this year and then all eyes will be on their joint hosting of the World Cup alongside Mexico in 2026.
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“I’m not going to say it’s going to be bigger than the NFL because the NFL is king over here and that’s the way it’s always going to be but in the terms that football is growing now, it’s almost uncontrollable really. People are excited, Everton are huge in the United States and the Premier League is a monster here now, it’s so big.
“I think the reaction to the game being confirmed [back in May] has been extremely positive. We had a similar reaction when Minnesota United announced they were going to host Aston Villa in 2019 but this time there’s the added bonus of a major connection with our head coach Adrian Heath and that’s going to be abundantly obvious over the coming weeks as we head towards the fixture.
“I’ve been in the US for 11 years now and the growth of the sport is unbelievable, it’s unmatched. Whenever you get a big European club coming over, particularly one from the Premier League, it’s met with great excitement. I know there’s an Everton fan club here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) and they’re really looking forward to it.”
Unlike many of the major conurbations along the United States’ Atlantic and Pacific coastlines which attract considerable numbers of international visitors, many English football supporters might not be overly familiar with Minneapolis.
The singer Prince – whose nearby Paisley Park home is now a museum open to fans – is arguably the city’s most-famous son, but in 2020 the area became the subject of international notoriety when George Floyd, a black man, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white officer of the Minneapolis Police Department.
A harrowing incident of such magnitude from an individual in the recent past cannot be overlooked but Williams has experienced another side to the community that he hopes travelling fans from Merseyside can get to see too. He said: “The place has a Midwestern feel and what I mean by that is it’s very friendly place to come to, it’s very welcoming and people will be very curious about the Evertonians who travel here and will want to show them things like ‘A Juicy Lucy’ a dish that the Twin Cities is famous for, which is a huge burger with the cheese inside the meat which is delicious. We also have an amazing brewery scene, I couldn’t tell you how many there are in total but I’ve tried to get to all of them and there are some amazing local beers.
“We’re not too far away from Chicago, it’s a one hour flight, and I think the best way to describe Minneapolis to your readers would be that it’s like a smaller Chicago. The Twin Cities concept confuses some people as well as they think we play in Minneapolis but we don’t, the stadium is in Saint Paul.
“I’m a bit biased towards Minneapolis as I live there in the Downtown area but Saint Paul is a lot smaller and more laid back but there’s great variety in terms of the immigrant populations with lots of Italians, Irish, Germans and Russians, a real mix. The Twin Cities are a fantastic place, they’re only about a 15-minute drive apart and there’s a metro train to connect them which is handy if fans fancy a bevvy and it’s about $2:50 from Downtown Minneapolis to the stadium.
“There’s also a place in Minneapolis called Brit’s Pub, and I’d recommend any Evertonian who comes over to go and watch a game there. I spend way too much time there myself, I’m going to start paying rent there soon! It’s a very welcoming place for everybody but especially to British expats.”
While the first game of Everton’s US tour was played in front of a 39,245 crowd at the 70,000-capacity M&T Bank Stadium, home of NFL side Baltimore Ravens, their match in The Twins Cities will have a much more intimate feel at a purpose-built football venue. Like Goodison Park’s successor, currently being constructed by the banks of the Mersey, Minnesota United’s Allianz Field has been designed with atmosphere in mind.
Williams said: “We’re very fortunate as I think it’s one of the best ‘soccer’ stadiums in the country, well I don’t think – it is. I’m lucky enough to have seen them all now with covering Major League Soccer for a long time and there have been so many new soccer-specific stadiums and this is one of the newest having opened in 2019.
“From an architectural point of view it’s similar to the Allianz Arena in Munich, we had a great partnership with Allianz and no doubt had influences and input in how the stadium looks. People can walk around the concourses of the whole stadium and there’s food from all four corners of the world.
“It’s a 19,000 capacity, we sell out every game and last I heard, our season ticket waiting list was somewhere between 7,000-10,000. We have a terrace behind the goal called ‘The Wonderwall’ where the most vocal fans tend to congregate and the atmosphere is one of the best in the league. While there remains a family-friendly feel to MLS matches if you want that, we’re now seeing a rise in what I’d describe as an Eastern European-type atmosphere from some supporters which is loud and boisterous and a capo leading the chants.
“When you talk about the sport continuing to grow in North America, the Twin Cities are absolutely part of that conversation. Whenever you go Downtown on a Saturday morning, because of the time difference you’ll see Premier League shirts, La Liga shirts, Bundesliga shirts everywhere as what people tend to do is watch their European team on television first and then go and watch Minnesota United live in the evening.”
While Everton are only just gearing up for a new season, Minnesota are midway through their domestic campaign and currently sit fourth in the Western Conference of MLS so who should travelling Blues look out for in the opposition camp? Williams said: “In terms of players to keep an eye on there’s Minnesota’s number 10, Emanuel Reynoso, who they signed from Boca Juniors, he pulls the strings and makes things happen. This deal highlighted a trend we’re seeing in which MLS teams are now signing some of the best players from South America.
“They’re coming to MLS first rather than directly to Europe. Some of them move on to Europe later but a lot of them are staying because they’re seeing that it’s a quality league that continues to improve with excellent facilities and passionate fanbases now.
“There’s also an up-and-coming Canadian goalkeeper called Dayne St. Clair who I think might just have a Premier League future. I know that’s a bold statement to make but he’s on the cusp of Canada’s national team and while he might not be number one, I’m convinced he’ll be part of their squad that goes to their first World Cup since 1986. He’s still got a lot to learn for sure but he’s one of the best shot-stoppers in the country and shows signs of real promise.”
A version of this article was originally published on May 14.
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