Premier League in USA

Premier League in USA: FIFA grants permission for La Liga, EPL in US ,and other countries

Binodh Roy

FIFA grants permission for Premier League in USA

FIFA plans to put an end to soccer traditions by shifting the Premier League and La Liga to USA.

On Wednesday a review policy was ordered opening the gates for domestic football to be played in other countries and sending shock waves around Europe.

Fans are more likely to oppose this, as the home matches of their side will be shifted thousands of miles (kilometers) away, though the old methods are changing as United States pro sports leagues organize games in Europe, Asia, and South America to develop and build their brands across new audiences.

Within hours one soccer great who has worked with FIFA objected to the decision

“No. No. No,” Gary Lineker, the former England and Barcelona player who won the Golden

Boot at the 1986 World Cup, wrote on social media.

The Back Story

Premier League in USA
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Even though the US and Saudi are willing to host competitive games from top European countries, they have gathered animosity from most of the travelling fans. FIFA has recently agreed to withdraw the ongoing case in New York by promoter Relevent to challenge the veto on organizing competitive league games.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino disagreed to take up questions or hold a news conference in Bangkok on Wednesday where the soccer bodies met to discuss the “out-of-territory” games.

The new FIFA policy will most likely attract the growing numbers of international owners of European clubs, including the new age of U.S. investors in the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1, and teams state-banked like Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City, Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi-owned Newcastle.

“It’s not part of our current plans, it really isn’t,” said Premier League CEO Richard Masters at a news conference last month.

Now FIFA is creating a new panel of 10-15 people representing soccer stakeholders, advising them on the on out-of-territory games rule.

There have been several attempts to have European games abroad, with the recent incident of taking Barcelona to Miami in 2019. However, their main agenda is to give fans more than just a pre-season exhibition involving the world’s best clubs.

In 2018, Infantino was against the Spanish league’s international ambitions, saying he would “prefer to see a great MLS game in the U.S. rather than La Liga being in the U.S.”

Now FIFA has instructed its working group, which is in the early stage, to consider fairness and give “advance notice to fans who may miss the opportunity to attend a home or away match in the home territory.”

Other factors faced by the FIFA panel include “respect for the recognized structure of international football”

The Super League project in April 2021 was cancelled due to activists from England and Germany campaigning for their ideas. This was pushed into stories by Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus, while American-owned clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United supported it.

Currently, the Spanish Super Cup games taking place in Saudi Arabia is under criminal investigation.

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