Move comes after La Liga and Serie A secured approvals to play competitive matches outside Europe
Fifa is seeking legal advice on how it can improve its rulebook and gain the authority to ban domestic league matches from being played abroad.
World football’s governing body wants to strengthen its position after recent developments ignited serious debate over European competitive games being played in other continents, according to The Guardian.
Uefa gave controversial approval for Villarreal’s La Liga fixture against Barcelona to be played in Miami, United States this December, while AC Milan’s Serie A match against Como is set to take place in Perth, Australia in February. The decision reportedly frustrated Fifa officials.
Earlier this week Fifa president Gianni Infantino called the movement “a big risk” because it involved breaking “the structure that made football the number one sport in the world”.
Fifa’s current rulebook allows leagues to move matches abroad if approved by the national and continental associations of both participating clubs, and then the host country’s national association. Fifa can only intervene if those procedures are not properly followed.
The Spanish and Italian federations approved the proposal for the Villareal-vs-Barcelona and AC Milan-vs-Como matches respectively, before forwarding the proposal to Uefa. With the latter having given its approval, Fifa has no legal basis to block the plans.
Explaining its approval, Uefa indeed also cited Fifa’s rulebook for its inability to reject the proposals and said it was only “reluctantly” agreeing to them.
Fifa’s review of the existing regulations could mean clearer rules that would give it the authority to ban the practice.
