FIFA moves toward ending soccer tradition and letting league games be staged in other countries
FIFA has moved toward ending decades of soccer tradition by reviewing the rules that currently block domestic league games being played in other countries
BANGKOK (AP) — FIFA moved Wednesday toward ending decades of soccer tradition by reviewing the rules that currently block domestic league games being played in other countries.
Fans are likely to object to their teams' home matches potentially being moved thousands of miles (kilometers) away.
The United States and Saudi Arabia are expected to be willing hosts to lure competitive games from top European countries, and FIFA recently agreed to withdraw from an ongoing court case in New York filed by promoter Relevent to challenge the policy.
The new FIFA policy will likely be attractive to the growing number of international owners of European clubs, including the wave of U.S. investors in the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1, and state-backed teams like Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City, Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi-owned Newcastle.
