The UEFA exec committee said that it “needed more time” to weigh proposals by the Spanish and Italian soccer leagues to take domestic league games international and “talk with more fan groups.” Fans “overwhelmingly oppose” taking competitive games outside Europe which soccer’s world body FIFA previously blocked. La Liga wants to stage Villarreal’s home game against Barcelona in Miami on Dec. 20 and Serie A wants to move the AC Milan-Como game in February to Perth, Australia. The plans have been “fiercely opposed by more than 500 fan groups” in the Football Supporters Europe network that is officially recognized by UEFA. La Liga and its commercial partner Relevent, a U.S. marketing agency co-founded by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, first tried in 2018 to put a Barcelona game in the city but were blocked by a FIFA veto. Relevent is now a major commercial partner for UEFA (AP, 9/11).
