March 08, (THEWILL) – A US Federal Appeals court has overturned a lower court’s decision to dismiss an antitrust case brought against FIFA and the US Soccer Federation by the promoter, Relevent Sports.
The case challenges FIFA’s policy banning teams from playing league games outside of their home countries and will now face antitrust scrutiny in the US. Relevent Sports, which is owned by Miami Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, attempted to organise several regular-season games between teams in the Ecuadorian league and the Spanish La Liga in 2018.
In response, FIFA adopted a new rule in the same year, prohibiting international league games, and the USSF declined to sanction a scheduled game in Miami Gardens, Florida. The appeals court judges wrote that FIFA and its member associations adopted an anticompetitive geographic market division by adopting the 2018 policy.
Relevent CEO, Daniel Sillman, stated that the ruling was an important victory for American soccer and the global growth of the game. He also said that more fans would have the chance to witness the sport being played at its highest level and directly experience all that it has to offer. USSF, however, declined to comment.
Relevent, which organised the International Champions Cup, sees games that count as critical to building a sustainable soccer business. The first foreign league soccer match played on US soil would have been historic, but the USSF denied the sanction, citing the FIFA policy. Relevent sued shortly after.
While the appeals court remanded the case, it pointedly wrote it is not taking a position on whether the policy is an antitrust violation. The case will next go back to the lower court for trial.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
