Key Takeaways
- Each league may move only one senior match overseas per season.
- Host nations can hold a maximum of five “foreign” league games a year.
- Fifa will have final veto power and will check player welfare, fan travel and money sharing.
Fifa is close to finishing a new rule book that allows every domestic league to play a single top-division fixture abroad each season.
The plan, drawn up by a special working group created almost two years ago, sets a high bar for approval. Clubs, their national federation, the regional confederation, the host country’s FA and its confederation must all say yes. After that, Fifa can still block the move.
Host countries will be capped at five visiting league matches per campaign. The limit is meant to stop the United States market from being flooded with European and South American games.
Any request must also show that local football will not suffer, that ticket money will help the wider game, and that travelling fans will be looked after. Player workload and long flights will be checked as well.
Last season Barcelona v Villarreal in Miami and Milan v Como in Perth were cancelled after heavy opposition. Under the new system such switches would be far harder to arrange.
England’s Premier League has repeatedly ruled out an overseas round, although some American owners are known to be keen. Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A still hope to export games but will now face tighter scrutiny.
Fifa wants the protocol ready for the 2025-26 season. No date has been fixed for the final vote, but world football’s governing body is urging all sides to send feedback soon.
