As I argued in my book Political Football globalisation may have halted in other sectors of the economy, but it is still flourishing in football. Prestige plays as important a part as financial gain (which doesn't happen that often, at least for clubs and their owners: agents and other internediaries are anoher issue, as are the players).
Will La Liga or the Premier League be the first to stage an official league match in the US? This is the latest challenge to traditional formats to emerge once again.
The Times has a
long article today from the chief executive of the Premier League warning
against government plans to create a regulatory framework and hoping at least
that the legislation might be delayed (although a Labour Government might be more resistant to Premier
League lobbying). His argument can be
reduced to one sentence: don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg. He wants light touch regulation, but some of
us remember how well that worked in financial services.
Football finance guru Kieran Maguire commented: 'I’ve read some blathering drivel in my time, but this from Richard Masters claiming football doesn’t need a regulator, yet members lost over £1bn last season, whose clubs can’t get accounts in on time & has inconsistent cost control rules, takes t’biscuit.'
Fifa and US promoter Relevent Sports have reached an
agreement to end their legal fight over a ban on big European football leagues
and clubs playing official matches in the US. Relevent and the world’s football
governing body told the Manhattan federal court on Monday that they expect the
agreement “will resolve the claims between them” in the litigation.
There is no guarantee that the resolution will result in
European league games taking place in the US. But Relevent said in a statement
to the Financial Times that Fifa was
considering “changes to its existing rules about whether games can be played
outside of a league’s home territory”.
The agency and match promoter, which is owned by billionaire
Stephen Ross, had initially sued the US Soccer Federation, the national
governing body, accusing it of conspiring to block foreign leagues from playing
official season matches in the country. The lawsuit came in response to
Relevent’s efforts in 2018 to organise a fixture in Miami between Spanish La
Liga teams Barcelona and Girona. It also attempted to organise an Ecuadorean
league match.
European football leagues and clubs are increasingly
targeting US fans and consumers ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be
co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US. Top clubs regularly hold friendlies and
exhibitions in the US but are unable to play official season matches in the
country.
Relevent has emerged as a crucial ally to European
competition organisers as they expand their international reach and revenues.
The sports agency has brokered billions of dollars in media rights deals for
Uefa, which organises the elite Champions League, and La Liga. It also worked
on the Premier League’s “Summer Series” pre-season friendlies last year.
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