BANGKOK.- Will we be able to see in the short term a 'Classic'Real Madrid-Barcelona being played in Miami or a Manchester City-Liverpool in the Middle East? The FIFA It is proposed to authorize national leagues to organize matches abroad.
The dream of the Premier League or LaLiga, which with its vast global audiences has long put on the table the idea of playing matches outside its national borders, could soon materialize.
The governing body of world football, in fact, decided this Wednesday to create a working group of 10 to 15 members in charge of examining the idea and giving substance to the proposal in the coming months.
This new FIFA commission is in charge “of collecting broader information on potential amendments to the regulations of FIFA international matches and issuing recommendations to the Council in this regard,” the body wrote in a statement.
The Council – FIFA's decision-making body – stated that the group would examine ten aspects relating to the organization of matches abroad.
These are above all the repercussions for the fans of the teams that could play abroad, consequences on the development of the competition or on the number of matches to be played outside the territory.
The biggest European clubs often play lucrative friendly matches around the world, such as the clash between Tottenham and Newcastle that will take place next Wednesday in Melbourne, Australia, just three days after the end of the Premier League.
Official, but secondary competitions such as the Spanish Super Cup, organized in recent years in Saudi Arabia, have already taken the leap. But the leagues were still governed by FIFA regulations.
Proposals on the table for FIFA:
Spanish LaLiga expressed its desire to play matches in North America from 2025.
The project of a “39th date” of the Premier League abroad, which caused rivers of ink to flow, was abandoned in 2008 due to opposition from fan groups, FIFA and UEFA.
Last month, an appeal to the United States courts prompted FIFA to reconsider its opposition.
That decision was made while the annual FIFA congress will take place on Friday in Bangkok, where the name of the organizer of the 2027 Women's World Cup will be announced, to which Brazil and a joint Germany-Belgium-Netherlands bid aspire. .
