London (AFP)

Even without an audience, the Premier League remains the Premier League: despite the fear of a loss of spectacle and attractiveness with the camera, the return of the English Championship, the most followed in the world, is scrutinized from Bournemouth to Newcastle , and from Bombay to Beijing.

On Wednesday, a 100-day wait will end for the English championship, which has built its immense financial power on its worldwide distribution.

For the three seasons from 2019 to 2022, PL rights abroad have reached the record sum of 4.2 billion pounds (4.7 billion EUR) and 2 billion GBP (2.2 billion EUR) are already insured for the period 2022 to 2028 by the Scandinavian countries.

A windfall all the more welcome as there is total uncertainty about the calendar and the terms of a return of supporters to the stadiums, which will weigh heavily on commercial revenues in a disaster economic context.

Without the fervor of its supporters in the stands, the Premier League will nevertheless lose one of its main competitive advantages.

"What makes (football) so special in England is the way people react during the match," said former Arsenal French coach Arsène Wenger in The Athletic.

"It’s the best country in the world in terms of how the fans react to what’s happening on the field. That’s why it will be the most penalized championship without it," he said. he adds.

- Reds fans stamp out -

The desire to quickly finish the championship, piling up 92 matches to play in just six weeks, with meetings almost every day and evening kicks off on weekdays, will force fans in Southeast Asia to set their alarm clock very early to watch the matches.

Foreign broadcasters have also received 107 M GBP (119.2 M EUR) in compensation for changes in the programming of matches.

These small annoyances will however quickly be forgotten as soon as the ball rolls again on the English lawns.

Millions of Liverpool fans around the world are keen to witness what will be the Reds' first coronation in 30 years and, for many, the first in their lifetime.

Jürgen Klopp's men could secure the title in their resumption game, a derby against Everton on Sunday, June 21.

"Nobody expects the return of the championship more than the Liverpool supporters," said AFP Hu Zhifei, 26, a journalist and member of the official group of supporters of the Reds in Beijing.

Hu, whose dream of going to see the Reds in action in February had fallen into the water because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be among the early risers who will follow internet matches in the early hours of the morning.

- "Great matches to watch" -

In India too, the excitement is at its height, especially among the urban youth that the Premier League has managed to seduce despite the prominent place traditionally occupied by cricket.

"I'm finally going to see the Premier League live! I've already made a schedule to watch the matches," Qazi Ahmad Masood, a 17-year-old student, told AFP.

It remains to be seen whether these fans will find what seduced them at the start: "the Premier League is fast and exciting and, no matter how strong or weak, the matches are great to watch", was enthusiastic Hu.

The supporters in front of their screen will have to content themselves with recorded encouragements which will try to mask the echo of the empty stadiums.

"The legend of English football revolves around noise, atmosphere, proximity (to the public). This show, this product, this experience, will not necessarily be there. "admitted Simon Chadwick, director of Eurasian sports studies at the EM Lyon business school.

But having successfully restarted its championship despite the scale of the epidemic in Britain, the hardest hit country in Europe, English football hopes to yield nothing in world popularity to its German, Spanish and Italian neighbors who have resumed before him.

© 2020 AFP