Everton supporters have joined over 430 groups across 27 nations as part of the Keep Football Home movement fighting to prevent domestic league games being played overseas
Everton supporters are among more than 430 groups across 27 nations claiming to represent three million European fans as part of the Keep Football Home movement. The movement is fighting to prevent domestic league games being played overseas.
Both the Everton Fans Forum and Everton Fan Advisory Board are among Football Supporters Europe (FSE), who are expressing their firm opposition to ongoing attempts to what they say are attempts to subvert the rules of the game by allowing leagues to relocate fixtures elsewhere around the world. This summer, Italy and Spain's football federations have unveiled plans to stage league fixtures in Australia and the United States and are seeking permission from FIFA and UEFA.
If successful, La Liga clubs Barcelona and Villarreal will face each other in Miami in December in what would be the first European league fixture to be played abroad and if permission is granted, Serie A sides AC Milan and Como will meet in Perth, Australia, in February. FSE say such proposals are a direct attack on the essence of football.
In a statement headlined ‘You can’t export passion,’ they say: “Should either of these leagues’ proposals be allowed to go ahead, it would instantly open a Pandora’s box with unpredictable and irreversible consequences. Every club, every national team, every fan base globally would be at risk of seeing the team they love taken away from them, relocated to another part of the world, for one game or more. Or see other countries’ competitions knock on their door, just as La Liga and Serie A’s presence would disrupt domestic football and fan culture in the United States and Australia.
“Football is based on a set of rules and principles and the rules of domestic leagues are simple: you play the same clubs home and away and the best team wins the league. Relocating games to foreign soil undermines this vital pillar of the game. Any deviation from the existing rules is a perversion of football for the sole purpose of entertainment and short-term financial gain.
“Clubs are neither entertainment companies nor travelling circuses. They exist for the benefit of their communities and provide a sense of belonging, where fans have been attending home games for generations.
“Breaking this vital bond, even temporarily, would undermine the cultural, social and local roots that give our game its meaning. The concept of flying players, staff, fans, and others across oceans for a ‘home’ game is absurd, unaffordable and environmentally irresponsible. It goes against European football’s stated commitment to sustainability and accessibility for all. It risks surrendering our clubs and our leagues to the will of entertainment companies, dictatorships, or vulture funds, whose interest in taking European football away from its home go against the very fabric of our sport.
“Four years after European football stood united and defeated the super league, we are facing a similar existential threat. We invite fans, players, media, governments, and football officials to act in solidarity and take a stand at this decisive moment for the future of the game.
“We call on UEFA, FIFA, and all national associations to stand firm, play their role as regulators of the game, implement their existing regulations, reject these proposals, protect the integrity of the game, reaffirm their commitment to the European Sport Model, and ensure that football remains rooted in our communities, where it belongs. Don’t take the game away from us.”
Other one-off matches, such as the Italian Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, have been held abroad in recent years. The idea of the Premier League playing an extra round - the '39th game' - outside England was raised in 2008 but the plans were shelved after criticism from fans and the media. Despite predecessor Richard Scudamore claiming in 2014 that clubs were still keen on the idea, current Premier League chief executive Richard Masters downplayed such a scenario in August. He said: “I don't think it changes the Premier League’s view on this at all, we don’t have any plans to play matches abroad. It’s not anywhere near my in-tray and it's not a debate around our table.”