Football’s governing body FIFA is to explore the impact of hosting competitive domestic matches abroad.
As reported by the BBC, a recent legal settlement agreed between FIFA and promoter Relevant Sports in the US has, in the words of Richard Masters – the Premier League’s chief executive – “left the door ajar” for games to be played outside of their native countries.
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England’s top flight have officially said they have no current plans to facilitate overseas fixtures, while LaLiga are much more open to the idea, with plans in place for games to move outside of Spain in 2025-26.
It marks a U-turn from the division that had previously cancelled a match between Barcelona and Girona, which was set to take place in Miami back in 2019.
Fifa is exploring the impact of moving domestic matches to be played abroad.#BBCFootball
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 15, 2024
The Spanish Super Cup is already played in Saudi Arabia but that is the extent of which FIFA has gone to move matches so far.
Their previous stance was a negative one, but since then, it has been agreed to set up a working group to ‘gather further information and issue recommendations’.
No decision will be made imminently and it will likely be a long process for the council.
A big factor comes in the form of facilitating fans who wish to travel to the host countries to watch their team play.
Clubs usually go abroad for pre-season tours and we have recently seen a Premier League mini-series held in the US.
But it looks like the prospect of some of Europe’s giants playing away from their home stadium is very much a reality.
