Club América president Santiago Baños has opened the door to his team playing Liga MX games in the United States in the future.
The move would be part of a massive change in the global game if, as expected, FIFA ends its current ban on teams staging league matches abroad.
Relevent Sports, a promoter, filed a lawsuit against FIFA and U.S. Soccer in 2019 that challenged that ban, after U.S. Soccer refused to sanction a La Liga match between Girona and Barcelona in Miami.
Last month, Relevent and FIFA reached an agreement to drop FIFA from the lawsuit, leaving U.S. Soccer as the lone defendant. FIFA has since said that it will likely change the ban before the end of 2024.
That would open the door for América, one of the most popular teams in the Western Hemisphere with a legion of fans in the United States. Already, Las Águilas play a number of friendlies in the U.S. in addition to the Leagues Cup.
“We’re not opposed to the possibility of playing in the United States as the home team, now that the lawsuit has been finalized and it appears that there’s a possibility for other teams to play there,” Baños told reporters ahead of Thursday’s Liga MX final first leg against Cruz Azul.
“It would be incredible to play in the U.S. and in other (Mexican) states because we have so many fans.”
Baños also confirmed that Sunday’s second leg would be his side’s final match at the Estadio Azteca before it closes for renovations ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
He said that América will be based at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City starting next season, but the club could also play its home matches in other parts of Mexico.
“Sunday will be our last game at Azteca,” Baños added to Claro Sports. “We will play at the Ciudad de los Deportes, but there are talks about playing within the republic.”
América wouldn’t be the only party interested in moving league matches to the lucrative U.S. market.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said last month that he believes the Spanish top flight will stage matches in the U.S. as soon as the 2025-26 season.
Source link : https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2024/05/23/club-america-president-liga-mx-games-usa/
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Publish date : 2024-05-23 03:00:00
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