US Soccer settles antitrust suit, clearing Relevent to bring non-domestic league games to US

April 11 – The squeaky wheel does get the oil as Relevent Sports now has a clear path to stage foreign league matches on American soil after settling its antitrust lawsuit with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), according to a filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

For the last three years, the US company has worked tirelessly to bring a big-time foreign league match across the pond only to be denied by FIFA and U.S. Soccer, who the suit claimed were conspiring to withhold approval giving a clear competitive edge to Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the marketing arm of Major League Soccer (MLS).

In a statement to ESPN, a USSF spokesperson said: “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.”

Relevent CEO Danny Sillman said in a statement: “We appreciate U.S. Soccer’s collaboration in reaching this settlement. Ultimately, we all share the same goal: growing the sport throughout America. We’re excited to continue supporting clubs from Europe and around the world to expand the sport’s reach and impact across the US.”

While this is a huge win for Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, who controls Relevent, the alarm bells will be sounding for both U.S. Soccer, MLS, and any professional soccer entity in the country because Relevent now has the opportunity to market and put on matches in direct competition to domestic leagues, pending approval from the respective international and league administrations.

In 2019, Ross signed a commercial rights deal with Spain’s La Liga to host a match between Barcelona and Girona; however, at that time, he was denied by the Spanish Federation. That door is now legally open, and the expectation is that Relevent will aggressively court European leagues to bring regular season matches to the US and potentially change the face of European league football as we know it.

Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1744397451labto1744397451ofdlr1744397451owedi1744397451sni@o1744397451fni1744397451