Relevent Sports, the global sports events promoter, has settled its antitrust lawsuit with US Soccer to end a long-running dispute with the national governing body.
The settlement was disclosed in a Wednesday filing with the US District Court in Manhattan. The filing did not reveal the terms of the agreement.
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Combined with an earlier settlement with world governing body FIFA just over a year ago, the path has been cleared for Relevent to hold foreign league matches in the US.
Relevent filed an antitrust lawsuit against US Soccer and FIFA in 2019, claiming that their refusal to stage international regular-season soccer matches in the country was unlawful.
The firm had accused the respective governing bodies of an illegal conspiracy to restrict where teams play and of blocking foreign leagues and clubs from staging competitive games in the US.
Relevent alleged that this was done to give an advantage to Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of MLS and a competitor of Relevent's in promoting international soccer matches.
The case was initially dismissed by a US judge in 2021 but revived by the federal appeals court in Manhattan in 2023.
In April 2024, Relevent, controlled by the NFL’s Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, settled with FIFA, and the global soccer body agreed to consider changing its rules about whether games can be played outside a league's home territory.
Such matches must also be approved by the national federations of the league as well as that of the country where the match will be played.
FIFA announced its foreign match policy in October 2018, after Relevent attempted to arrange with Spain's LaLiga to host a regular season match between Barcelona and Girona in Miami, Florida as part of a commercial rights deal between the pair.
Barcelona eventually had to withdraw from the agreement, and Relevent subsequently sued US Soccer in September 2019 after it stopped a match in Miami between two Ecuadorean teams, with FIFA added as a defendant in the case a year later.
US Soccer and FIFA feared that US stadiums hosting regular season matches between foreign teams would have the potential to draw away fans and sponsors from the US’ own Major League Soccer domestic club competition.
This comes in the lead-up to the US, Canada, and Mexico co-hosting the men’s World Cup in 2026.
FIFA announced last May that it was forming a 10 to 15 member working group that “will consider a revised legal framework at FIFA level dealing with i) rules, procedures and processes for authorizing interclub football matches or competitions, and ii) criteria to be applied for authorizing such matches or competitions.”
Several teams already play friendly matches in the US, including through Relevent’s International Champions Cup friendly tournament. Multiple top-tier European sides appear in that annual tournament in the build-up to their domestic seasons.
The filing reads: “Plaintiff Relevent Sports, LLC voluntarily dismisses the above-captioned matter, with prejudice, as to Defendant United States Soccer Federation, Inc.”
The term “with prejudice” means that Relevent is barred from refiling the same claim or lawsuit against US Soccer in the future.
In a statement to ESPN, a US Soccer spokesperson said: “We are pleased to put this matter behind us as we remain focused on growing the game and harnessing the momentum of US Soccer ahead of next year's World Cup.”
Relevent chief executive Danny Sillman said in a statement: “We appreciate US 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.”
Relevent has become a major player in soccer and was recently confirmed as the exclusive commercial rights holder for UEFA’s array of men's club competitions between 2027 and 2033, replacing long-time UEFA partner Team Marketing.
