The change may seem small, but the profit-seeking games are clearly the first step in a mass reorientation of the club game
Looking back someday, it may be hard to identify the exact moment when soccer altogether lost the silhouette that had loosely contained its shape for a century. When its governing bodies let go at last, handing the reins to the horses. When the last line holding against the sport’s self-immolating avarice collapsed and all were free to just do whatever they want. When crotchety pundits were finally right and the game was fully gone.
Or maybe we’ll know precisely when it was: 6 October 2025, when the Uefa executive committee declared in an extraordinary release that it was opposed to domestic league matches being played abroad – while allowing two of them “on an exceptional basis.” Barcelona and Villarreal will stage an ostensibly domestic La Liga game in Miami in December. Milan and Como are to play a Serie A match in Perth, Australia – a mere 20-hour flight from Italy – in February.
Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out in the spring of 2026. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University.
Continue reading…The change may seem small, but the profit-seeking games are clearly the first step in a mass reorientation of the club gameLooking back someday, it may be hard to identify the exact moment when soccer altogether lost the silhouette that had loosely contained its shape for a century. When its governing bodies let go at last, handing the reins to the horses. When the last line holding against the sport’s self-immolating avarice collapsed and all were free to just do whatever they want. When crotchety pundits were finally right and the game was fully gone.Or maybe we’ll know precisely when it was: 6 October 2025, when the Uefa executive committee declared in an extraordinary release that it was opposed to domestic league matches being played abroad – while allowing two of them “on an exceptional basis.” Barcelona and Villarreal will stage an ostensibly domestic La Liga game in Miami in December. Milan and Como are to play a Serie A match in Perth, Australia – a mere 20-hour flight from Italy – in February.Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out in the spring of 2026. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University. Continue reading…
