FIFA Urged To Ban Staging Of League Games In Other Countries

World's football governing body, FIFA, has been implored by its Stakeholders Committee to formally prevent leagues from holding official league matches outside of their home territories, with La Liga's plan to hold a regular-season game in Miami likely to be scuppered.

The committee released a statement after meeting on Thursday in Zurich, Switzerland, saying: "With regard to matches and competitions with an international dimension, the committee endorsed the principle set out by the FIFA Council that official domestic matches should take place on the territory of the member association concerned. Regulations on this matter will be submitted to the FIFA Council."

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The move is in response to efforts by sports promoter Relevent Sports to hold a La Liga match in the United States. Relevent had attempted to hold a match between Barcelona and Girona at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium during the 2018-19 season.

The following season, Relevent tried to hold a match involving Atletico Madrid and Villarreal in the same venue but their efforts were knocked back by the U.S. Soccer Federation, who refused to provide the required approval for the event with the Spanish football federation in support of the decision.

During this time, Relevent filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the USSF. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the USSF conspired with FIFA and Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, to prevent matches from foreign leagues from being held in the U.S.

However, La Liga's president, Javier Tebas have come out to criticize the recommendation. "This is a step back in promoting football worldwide," he said via email about the committee's recommendation.

"Fans from all over the world deserve to be able to enjoy the leagues they love wherever they are. Leagues should have the freedom to bring their matches closer to their fans, just as the big American leagues have done for many years, led by [MLS commissioner] Don Garber himself in the case of the NFL. We believe this is our right and we will continue to fight for it."

A Relevent spokesperson declined to comment on FIFA's statement, citing the ongoing litigation against the USSF.

On Wednesday, Garber, who has a seat on the stakeholders' committee, told newsmen that he was opposed to the idea of leagues holding official matches in other countries.

"I don't think it's the best thing for the sport," Garber said. "I think regular-season games should be played in home markets, and that's been supported by even in the one issue we have going on now in Spain. The Spanish Federation doesn't think it makes sense."