Reverse Globalization Seems Inevitable USSF and MLS Should Prepare to Capitalize on Trend

Reverse Globalization Seems Inevitable USSF and MLS Should Prepare to Capitalize on Trend

The NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all clearly recognize the importance of, and upside in, playing official games abroad. 

To develop the kind of passionate fandom that leads to meaningful international media rights, sports betting, gaming, and sponsorship revenue, a rights owner must bring marquee live events to key markets overseas.

Yet, despite the obvious upside, none of European football’s most prominent clubs have participated in an official fixture in the world’s most lucrative sports market. And that reality isn’t changing imminently, as it looked like it might be just a few weeks ago. 

LaLiga’s steadfast effort to bring regular season matches to the States is, once again, on hold. Sources suggested that the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) is not yet on board with the idea of reverse globalization, largely due to objections from Major League Soccer (MLS).

Eventually, the governing body may not have a say in the matter. Relevent Sports Group (RSG) is pursuing an anti-trust lawsuit against the USSF. That case could eventually make its way to the Supreme Court. Should Stephen Ross and the global football property owner/operator win, it would set the stage for official European league matches on U.S. soil.

That decision would benefit teams and leagues abroad, and create incremental upside for the Americans investing in them. But it doesn’t have to spell doom for MLS.

The domestic league can get ahead of the trend and find ways to participate in the value that will be created.

Most Powerful Sports Content Tech Stack

If you work in sports content, you need to see WSC Sports’ expanded product offerings now available within its industry-leading content automation platform.

Around the Game: a collection of AI services applied to the automated management of all content with indexing of moments such as arrivals, press conferences, interviews, photos, fan reactions, alternate camera angles, and user-generated footage enabling AI search, AI recommendations, and smart-linked content

In App Stories: an SDK that quickly stands up vertical stories and reels style customizable content widgets in your O&O app paired with vertical video content automation through WSC Sports’ Magicrop feature

Discovery Network: an extended distribution network supercharging fan discovery of near-live sports content for both rights holders and publishers

Gen AI: Sports-specific solution for text-to-image, text-to-audio, text-to-video AI-generated sports content like audio commentary or IP-inspired alternate telecasts.

WSC Sports’ technology enables more views, more formats, and more fans. Fuel the fandom with AI. Learn more.

American sports leagues are increasingly invading Europe. 

The NFL played three games in London and one in Germany this season. Spain is getting a game in 2025, and Ireland is reportedly also under consideration for next year too. Commissioner Goodell has said the total number of official league games played outside the U.S. could reach 16 in the not-too-distant future (think: France, Italy, Mexico).

The NBA, NHL, and MLB also all played sold-out games across the pond in 2024.

Even college sports are getting in on the globalization trend. Georgia Tech played Florida State in Dublin’s Aer Lingus Classic this past August.

So, why haven’t Europe’s most renowned football clubs followed suit with official matches in America? Logic would suggest they’d benefit from capturing a slice of the lucrative U.S. sports market, and Americans have clearly demonstrated an appetite for the product (see: a Liverpool-ManU friendly sold-out South Carolina’s 77,559-capacity stadium in a matter of minutes). 

The answer is that the global football industry is highly regulated and over-politicized.

It’s certainly not for lack of effort.

In August 2018, LaLiga President Javier Tebas announced a 15-year joint venture with RSG. Together they would promote and commercialize the Spanish league in North America and had planned to host an official match in Miami the following January (between FC Barcelona and Girona).  

However, within a matter of days, FIFA, the RFEF, the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) and USSF all voiced their objections.

FIFA’s was reportedly ‘control’ related. RFEF and LaLiga had a particularly tense relationship prior to federation president Luis Rubiales’ resignation. The AFE was concerned about over-scheduling. And the USSF claimed it was simply adhering to FIFA’s policy that “official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective member association.”  

Relevent fought back. The company filed antitrust and tortious interference claims against FIFA and the USSF in 2019. RFEF cannot be sued in U.S. courts and the AFE holds no jurisdiction here.

FIFA subsequently proposed a rule barring official matches from being played abroad. That bylaw was never adopted.

But it caused the U.S. Justice Department to respond, in a highly unusual manner, with a 'warning’ indicating that an international ban could run afoul of American antitrust law.

In what could be construed as an act of capitulation by soccer’s governing body, the parties settled their dispute this past April (the legal winds were not blowing in FIFA’s favor).  

That leaves Relevent’s case against the USSF as the last major hurdle. 

But it remains a high one. The two sides have been unable to come to a settlement to date. The case is working its way through the legal system and could eventually end up at the mercy of the Supreme Court.  

However, a ruling in RSG’s favor would do more than open doors to an official LaLiga game in the States. It would set the stage for the reverse globalization trend to finally take hold.

Playing official club matches in the States would benefit the teams and leagues participating, and by proxy the American owners invested in them. The U.S. leagues referenced above have been able to exponentially grow interest in their products across the old Continent by bringing games there.

At the same time, it would bring additional competition for the American fans’ time, dollar, and mindshare, which seems problematic for a domestic league already fighting to gain mass appeal. Presumably, that is why the USSF remains reluctant to embrace meaningful international fixtures here.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber seems to view it that way. He cited the importance of sovereignty and borders in response to talk of English Premier League clubs possibly playing official games in the U.S.

But a top international soccer executive told us hosting official European club matches in the States would be “an opportunity for people [here] to fall in love with the beautiful game, which would be derivatively beneficial to MLS.” 

These games would also align perfectly with USSF’s mission ‘to make soccer, in all its forms, the preeminent sport in the United States’.

Of course, the falling in love part might happen even if the European leagues never come to play regular season games. The country is going to host the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2026.

While the USSF stands in opposition for now, America is all about free markets. So, it is hard to bet against reverse globalization happening eventually. 

It would behoove MLS to get out ahead of the trend and find a way to collaborate on the European leagues’ forthcoming growth efforts.

The USSF collects a hefty fee to sanction ‘friendlies’ each summer. One would imagine it could command an even greater number for an official match and might be willing to share some of those proceeds with the top domestic league.

MLS also owns Soccer United Marketing (SUM). Why couldn’t the league’s for-profit arm work out a marketing partnership with Relevant? Perhaps SUM and Relevent could even bundle commercial assets and pursue the ‘1+1=3 theory’.

There would undoubtedly be some opposition from European fan groups who do not want to lose the home games. And those entities do carry much more weight with their respective clubs and leagues than American fans do.

But there are always solutions if all parties are sufficiently motivated, and motivating supporters shouldn’t be too difficult. One source indicated that Tebas was prepared to charter flights to Miami for 3,000 Spanish fans for the proposed Barca-Girona game in 2018. 

Tebas and Relevent remain hellbent on bringing regular season matches to America. The English Premier League has been less vocal about the possibility (likely to keep the peace with their supporters’ groups), but we suspect they too are circling the wagons (see: Liverpool chairman Tom Werner’s comments).

It is time for the USSF and MLS to get on the train and make it work to their benefit rather than denying American soccer fans the chance to see the very best play games that matter…close-up. In all likelihood, it’s going to happen anyway, with or without their cooperation.

Top 5 Sports Business Headlines
Click here to subscribe to Sport & Story Daily and never miss a story.

• The NBA's Conference Imbalance

• Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Sets U.S. Record for Biggest Gate for Bout Outside of Las Vegas

• Silver Lake's Durban Has Deal for Stake in Raiders

• Comcast Set to Spin Off NBCUniversal Cable Channels

• OKC Clears the Way For New USL Soccer Stadium