🌍 Game-Changer: Relevent Sports Ends Lawsuit, U.S. Could Host Foreign League Matches
NEW YORK, In a legal milestone with sweeping implications for global football, Relevent Sports has officially settled its antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF), clearing the final legal hurdle to staging official foreign league matches in the United States.
Filed in U.S. District Court (Southern District of New York), the settlement includes a voluntary dismissal “with prejudice”, ending years of legal wrangling and preventing any refiling of the case.
⚖️ A Legal Battle Years in the Making
Relevent, backed by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, originally sued in 2019 after its proposals to host LaLiga and Ecuadorian league matches in the U.S. were blocked.
Key Timeline:
-
2018: FIFA policy bans domestic league matches outside home countries.
-
2019: Relevent sues USSF.
-
2021: Case dismissed.
-
2023: Federal appeals court revives it.
-
2024: U.S. Solicitor General backs Relevent’s argument before SCOTUS.
-
2025: Settlement reached.
Relevent argued that the USSF and FIFA colluded to suppress competition by enforcing the 2018 rule. The U.S. government agreed, calling the USSF’s actions “anticompetitive” in a brief to the Supreme Court.
🗣️ U.S. Soccer Responds: “We’re Focused on Growing the Game”
While the terms remain confidential, USSF issued a brief statement:
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us as we remain focused on growing the game and harnessing the momentum of U.S. Soccer ahead of next year’s World Cup.”
MLS, and its marketing arm Soccer United Marketing (SUM), have yet to comment. Relevent previously claimed USSF’s policies were designed to benefit SUM, which has historically controlled U.S. media and promotion rights for top international events.
🇺🇸 What This Means for U.S. Fans and Global Football
With this legal wall removed, the U.S. could now host official regular-season matches from leagues like:
-
LaLiga
-
Premier League
-
Serie A
-
Eredivisie
Potential venues include Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) and SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), both capable of hosting blockbuster global matches.
FIFA’s own working group is expected to deliver recommendations soon on new policies for international league games outside home nations, possibly laying the groundwork for a global scheduling reset.
What Happened Next
The settlement, filed April 9, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, saw Relevent voluntarily dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled. Combined with Relevent’s earlier settlement with FIFA, industry reporting has since suggested the first sanctioned foreign league matches on U.S. soil could arrive as soon as the 2025-26 season, according to ESPN’s reporting on the settlement’s aftermath, with LaLiga president Javier Tebas among those pushing to bring official fixtures to American venues.
