EPTNEW YORK -- MLS commissioner Don Garber has voiced his opposition to leagues scheduling regular season matches outside of their home countries.
The comment was made at MLS Media Day as Garber was about to head to Zurich, Switzerland for a meeting of the FIFA Stakeholders Committee in which the topic is among the agenda items. The 23-person committee is chaired by CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, and includes Garber and U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro.
The topic interests the game's stakeholders in North America. Last year, sports promoter Relevent Sports filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the USSF and Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the marketing arm of MLS. The suit was filed after the USSF refused to sanction a match from Spain's La Liga that Relevent wanted to hold in Miami. The USSF said it was simply following FIFA Statutes. The Royal Spanish Football Federation was also opposed to the match.
Relevent organizes the International Champions Cup every year in the U.S. and elsewhere, with many of the world's biggest clubs using it as part of their preseason preparations. SUM is competitor of Relevent's in the business of promoting international soccer matches.
"The decision on whether regular season games are played outside their home countries, it's not a decision that I have any role in making," said Garber in an exclusive interview with ESPN. "That's a decision that FIFA, the confederations and the national associations will make."
Garber added: "My opinion on it is I don't think it's the best thing for the sport. I think regular season games should be played in home markets, and that's been supported by even in the one issue we have going on now in Spain. The Spanish Federation doesn't think it makes sense."
The topic is gaining some attention in FIFA circles, however, and it's one the FIFA Stakeholders Committee will examine. The agenda for Thursday's meeting, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, includes one item that refers to "Official league matches played in the territory of another member federation: amendments to the FIFA International Match Rules" and another that mentions "Clubs participating in competitions of the territory of another member federation: applications covered by art. 73 of the FIFA Statutes."
The comment was made at MLS Media Day as Garber was about to head to Zurich, Switzerland for a meeting of the FIFA Stakeholders Committee in which the topic is among the agenda items. The 23-person committee is chaired by CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, and includes Garber and U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro.
The topic interests the game's stakeholders in North America. Last year, sports promoter Relevent Sports filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the USSF and Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the marketing arm of MLS. The suit was filed after the USSF refused to sanction a match from Spain's La Liga that Relevent wanted to hold in Miami. The USSF said it was simply following FIFA Statutes. The Royal Spanish Football Federation was also opposed to the match.
Relevent organizes the International Champions Cup every year in the U.S. and elsewhere, with many of the world's biggest clubs using it as part of their preseason preparations. SUM is competitor of Relevent's in the business of promoting international soccer matches.
"The decision on whether regular season games are played outside their home countries, it's not a decision that I have any role in making," said Garber in an exclusive interview with ESPN. "That's a decision that FIFA, the confederations and the national associations will make."
Garber added: "My opinion on it is I don't think it's the best thing for the sport. I think regular season games should be played in home markets, and that's been supported by even in the one issue we have going on now in Spain. The Spanish Federation doesn't think it makes sense."
The topic is gaining some attention in FIFA circles, however, and it's one the FIFA Stakeholders Committee will examine. The agenda for Thursday's meeting, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, includes one item that refers to "Official league matches played in the territory of another member federation: amendments to the FIFA International Match Rules" and another that mentions "Clubs participating in competitions of the territory of another member federation: applications covered by art. 73 of the FIFA Statutes."
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