Relevent Sports, U.S. Soccer settle antitrust lawsuit, ending years-long legal battle
Relevent Sports has settled its antitrust lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer Federation, likely clearing the way for the sports promoter to host foreign league matches on American soil.
Attorneys for the sports promoter on Wednesday filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to dismiss the suit against U.S. Soccer 'with prejudice,' meaning Relevent Sports gives up its right to refile the same claim or lawsuit against the federation in the future.
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'We appreciate U.S. Soccer's collaboration in reaching this settlement,' Relevent CEO Danny Sillman said in a statement Thursday. '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 U.S.'
An attorney for Relevent Sports did not elaborate on any specifics of the agreement. Last year, Relevant also reached a separate agreement with FIFA, world soccer's governing body, to drop it as a co-defendant in the matter.
The settlement puts an end to a years-long legal fight between the New York-based sports promoter and U.S. Soccer. Relevent, co-founded and owned by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, first filed its lawsuit against the federation in 2019.
Their suit alleged, in part, that the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) conspired with FIFA to keep Relevent from competing against Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the marketing arm of Major League Soccer with deep financial ties to USSF. Relevent competes with SUM in promoting similar events.
A USSF spokesperson said in a statement Thursday: '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.'
The legal dispute dates to 2018, when Relevent first tried to organize a regular-season La Liga match in the United States. It would have been a historic first for international club soccer, as regular-season matches in the sport are only ever played within the borders of a league's home country. In American professional sports, though, it's far more common for domestic leagues, like the NFL, to host regular-season games in other countries.
In August 2018, Relevent said it would host a regular-season La Liga match between Barcelona and Girona in Miami. But, in October, global soccer's governing body, FIFA, announced a policy barring domestic leagues from playing their regular-season games outside of their home territories. Barcelona then withdrew from its commitment.
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Then, in March 2019, Relevent tried again by submitting an application to USSF, which is a member of FIFA, to sanction an official league match between two Ecuadorian teams in the United States. However, USSF denied the sanction, citing FIFA policy.
By September, Relevent sued USSF on antitrust grounds. Attorneys added FIFA as a co-defendant the following year. The dispute crawled through the courts, and through the pandemic, even reaching the Supreme Court in April 2024.
It seemed likely, though, that the lawsuit could be settled, especially after a FIFA attorney told a federal judge last year that the governing body was considering changing its rules that would allow domestic league matches to be played abroad.
This revelation came weeks after Relevent and FIFA reached their own settlement to drop FIFA as a co-defendant. The terms of their settlement were never disclosed. However, not long after that milestone, FIFA approved a working group that would look into rule changes, signaling it was reconsidering its long-held stance on the matter.
In the months since, foreign leagues have once again begun showing their interest in hosting official matches in the United States, including La Liga.
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