By Melanie Anzidei, Adam Crafton and Paul Tenorio
New York City-based event promoter Relevent Sports will drop FIFA as a defendant in its antitrust lawsuit against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation, according to a resolution between the parties filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday.
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The resolution between Relevent and FIFA does not include U.S. Soccer, which remains a defendant in the case that is still pending and could potentially be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
It’s the latest development in a case where a ruling could result in club teams worldwide being allowed to play official league games outside of their home territory – an arrangement that is currently barred by FIFA statute.
In a statement to The Athletic, Relevent Sports indicated that the agreement was made “while FIFA considers changes to its existing rules about whether games can be played outside of a league’s home territory.”
“Relevent Sports looks forward to supporting FIFA as both sides work to grow the game,” the statement continued.
In a similarly-worded statement, FIFA said it “has not admitted any liability and continues to deny the legal claims alleged in Relevent’s complaint.”
The Athletic has a comprehensive and easy-to-understand history of the case here, which explains why the sides are locked in the legal battle and all the steps it has taken to get to this point.
The filing says that Relevent and FIFA have agreed that FIFA will no longer be a co-defendant in the lawsuit, calling for the “dismissal without prejudice of all claims asserted by Relevent against FIFA in the above-captioned action.” The filing also says that each side will pay its own attorneys’ fees and costs.
Importantly, the agreement also says that FIFA agrees to be bound by whatever the final decision is in the suit, so long as it applies to “any rules, policies, or practices concerning official season games held outside of the participating league’s and teams’ home territory.”
For FIFA, this appears, on the surface at least, to be a capitulation. When Relevent sought to bring two Spanish La Liga teams — Girona and Barcelona — to play a domestic league fixture in Miami in 2018, the FIFA Council had resolved that “official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective member association.”
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While FIFA once seemed to be firmly against domestic fixtures moving to the U.S., that position has now shifted dramatically.
FIFA had previously joined U.S. Soccer as a co-defendant, with the national association already accused of seeking to block the growth of Relevent’s business as a promoter, while the governing body was also accused of having a conflict of interest. As the United States’ national association, U.S. Soccer has the power to approve all professional soccer matches played within its territory and earn millions of dollars in fees for doing so.
Alarm bells may have been ringing inside FIFA in July 2023, when a United States District Judge ordered the completion of “fact discovery” relating to the case by the end of September 2024. Discovery can sometimes become burdensome or embarrassing affairs for major organizations, as it can shed light on details they may prefer not to be in the public realm.
In a recent court filing in Manhattan on April 1, Relevent said it had reached an agreement with USSF, and was nearing agreement with FIFA on materials that would be requested for discovery. FIFA and Relevent’s agreement to drop FIFA as a defendant came days later.
The details of FIFA’s settlement have not been disclosed but, notably, Relevent has left the door open to relaunching a legal case at any point, by asking the court to dismiss the claims between the parties “without prejudice”.
The Athletic asked FIFA if the implication therefore is that the world governing body is now open to domestic fixtures being taken abroad but FIFA did not respond.
The outcome of this case could clear the way for teams to play official league matches outside of their respective home territory, meaning teams from around the world could soon look to stage games in the United States.
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FIFA is already bringing major club football matches to the United States with the men’s Club World Cup tournament slated for the summer of 2025, but that competition represents a new format of an already global tournament, rather than a domestic league.
The top European leagues have long looked to capitalize on the massive American commercial market with summer preseason tours. The Premier League played a “Summer Series” with six teams in the U.S. last year and sold out NFL stadiums around the country. A “Summer Champions Tour” is being held this summer with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and AC Milan. With the World Cup coming to the U.S. in 2026, commercial opportunities are only expected to grow.
The statements from both FIFA and Relevent seemed to indicate that this settlement would clear the path for changes to FIFA policy, but leagues could still face pushback from fans and other stakeholders for moving games outside of their home nation. In 2018 after La Liga and Relevent announced games would be played in the U.S., the Spanish Footballers Association put out a statement denouncing the decision.
That pushback might not matter, however. In 2022, Relevent CEO Daniel Sillman told Spanish press, “I can assure you that before the 2026 World Cup, there will be official La Liga games on North American soil.”
On Monday, Sillman issued a new statement: “Bringing official matches from Europe to the US is an exciting proposition but it must be done thoughtfully and collaboratively. We look forward to partnering with FIFA to support the global growth of the game and the best leagues in the world.”
(Photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images for Premier League)
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