After a six-year legal battle, US Soccer and Relevent Sports have reached a settlement in the latter’s antitrust lawsuit which opens the potential for European leagues to play games in the US.
Recently Relevent’s lawyers filed a motion in federal court to dismiss their case against U.S. Soccer with prejudice—which means they won’t be able to bring the same lawsuit or claims against the federation again in the future.
US Soccer expresses relief as a longstanding issue is resolved, allowing the organisation to fully focus on growth and building momentum ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
“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,” US Soccer said via statement on ESPN.
The details of the settlement haven’t been made public, bringing an end to the long-running legal battle between the federation and Relevent Sports, the agency co-founded and owned by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
Relevent had already reached a separate deal with FIFA last year, agreeing to remove soccer’s global governing body from the lawsuit as a co-defendant.
“We appreciate US Soccer’s collaboration in reaching this settlement,” Relevent chief executive Danny Sillman told ESPN via statement.
”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 first revealed plans in 2018 to host a La Liga match between Barcelona and Girona in Miami, as part of its 15-year commercial deal with Spain’s top football league.
FIFA quickly responded by introducing a policy that banned league matches from being played outside the home countries of the participating clubs.
As a result, Barcelona pulled out of the game, there was also disagreement between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) over the idea of playing a league match overseas.
Relevent later tried to bring an Ecuadorian league match to the US, with support from LigaPro Ecuador, but U.S. Soccer denied approval, again citing FIFA’s policy.
In response, Relevent sued both U.S. Soccer and FIFA in 2019, accusing them of working together to block foreign league games in the U.S.
The lawsuit claimed this was done to protect Soccer United Marketing (SUM), Major League Soccer’s (MLS) commercial arm, and prevent competition.
Although the case was initially dismissed in July 2021, that decision was overturned in May 2023, opening the door for a trial.
Relevent eventually reached a settlement with FIFA, which included the creation of a working group to explore possible changes to its rules on international matches.
Just last month, it was confirmed that Relevent had secured the global commercial rights for UEFA’s men’s club competitions over a six-season cycle starting in 2027/28.
This means Relevent will now manage, sell, and market the commercial rights for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League worldwide.
Additionally to collaborating with La Liga, Relevent also has commercial partnerships with the English Football League (EFL) and the Bundesliga, it’s also responsible for scheduling and promoting pre-season Premier League games in the US.
