29/05 - 20:00
World football’s governing body, The Federation Internationale de football (FIFA), has confirmed it will explore the possibility of moving domestic matches abroad in the future.
FIFA has said they will establish a working group to look at the impact of playing competitive matches in domestic leagues overseas at some point.
There has been a legal agreement made between FIFA and American sports promoters Relevant Sports that has suggested there is a possibility of this eventuality.
The Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Masters, has said that the agreement has ‘left the door ajar’ for the possibility of moving matches abroad.
The Premier League’s former CEO, Richard Scudamore, once infamously planned on a ‘39th game’ in the league, which would be an extra game during a season played abroad. However, England’s top-flight league have this time said they have no plans to do so.
In contrast, La Liga, with Javier Tebas at the helm, have said that they plan to play games overseas from the 2025/26 campaign, which would conveniently lead into the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to be held across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Spain’s top division very nearly set the precedent back in 2019 with Barcelona set to face Catalan rivals Girona in Miami but that was eventually cancelled due to supporter protest.
