September 4 – The bean counters may want it. TV executives almost demand it. Private equity firms are rubbing their hands at the prospect. But football fans from more than 400 club supporter groups in Europe urged FIFA and UEFA on Wednesday to block requests from the Spanish and Italian leagues to play games abroad.
La Liga have already approved plans for Barcelona to play Villarreal in Miami in December, while Serie A want AC Milan to host Como in February in Perth, Australia.
Ahead of UEFA’s executive committee meeting next week in Albania, the officially recognised fan liaison group Football Supporters Europe aims to show the scale of opposition to “out-of-territory”.
“We call on UEFA, FIFA, and all national associations to stand firm, play their role as regulators of the game and ensure that football remains rooted in our communities, where it belongs,” the FSE group said Wednesday, with support from fan groups in 25 countries.
“Clubs are neither entertainment companies nor travelling circuses. They exist for the benefit of their communities and provide a sense of belonging, where fans have been attending home games for generations.”
Other critics of the plan include the European Commission’s top sports official Glenn Micallef, who claims the sporting integrity of leagues also would be damaged.
Allowing the Barcelona or AC Milan games to move would “instantly open a Pandora’s box with unpredictable and irreversible consequences,” the fan groups warned.
Fresh proposals to move domestic leagues abroad were inevitable once FIFA withdrew from a court case last year in New York brought by promotions agency Relevent.
Relevent was co-founded by Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, whose Hard Rock Stadium is set to stage the Villarreal-Barcelona game which the clubs hope will help build their fan bases and brands globally.
Relevent also is now one of UEFA’s most significant commercial partners, sealing a deal this year to sell broadcast and sponsor rights for six years of the Champions League and other European club competitions starting in 2027.
UEFA’s ruling committee meets Sept. 11 in Tirana, chaired by its president Aleksander Ceferin. He suggested last week UEFA must talk with FIFA and currently has limited legal power to stop overseas games if the national federations involved agree to them.