Fifa seeks advice over banning league games staged overseas amid regulations redraft

FIFA, the governing body of world football, is in the process of redrafting its regulations on staging domestic league games in foreign countries and is seeking legal advice on whether it can ban the practice. The rules, which have not been updated since 2014, have come under scrutiny as La Liga and Serie A are set to play games in Miami and Perth, respectively. Fifa is working to make its rulebook more robust, with new regulations expected to be ready early next year. The decision by UEFA to allow the Villarreal v Barcelona and Milan v Como matches to take place overseas is said to have caused considerable irritation at Fifa, as the governing body believes it is not UEFA's decision to make under the existing regulations. The article suggests that Fifa is looking to exert more control over the staging of domestic league games outside of a country's borders, but will be guided by legal opinion in its efforts to update the relevant regulations.