The United States and Gulf countries are expected to be hosts to attract games away from top European countries.

FIFA made a significant announcement on Wednesday signalling a potential shift in football tradition as it initiated a review of the rules that currently prevent domestic league games from being played in other countries. 

The decision could potentially open the doors for the United States and the Gulf region to host matches, drawing them away from Europe. 

A collaborative effort is underway, with a working group comprising 10-15 members from various football stakeholders.

This includes representatives from member associations, confederations, clubs, leagues, players, supporter organisations, and private entities. They will collectively review policies, a process expected to take a few months, before deciding. 

“The FIFA Council anticipates that the working group will make its recommendations in the following months,” FIFA said in a statement. 

“The primary objective of the working group will be to study the FRGIM and the press release issued following the October 2018 FIFA Council meeting regarding out-of-territory matches,” the statement added. 

The football federation said the group will consider transparency, objectivity, non-discrimination, and proportionality. 

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, FIFA announced that Qatar will host three more editions of the Arab Cup in 2025, 2029, and 2033.

The announcement came during the FIFA Council meeting ahead of the 74th FIFA Congress in Thailand. 

“At the request of the Qatar Football Association, Qatar will host the tournament in 2025, 2029 and 2033, which will follow the principle of an invitational competition not included in the International Match Calendar,” announced FIFA.

In the statement, the slot allocations for the five editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup that will be held annually in Qatar from 2025 to 2029 were also clarified. The slots confirmed include AFC: 9, CAF: 10, Concacaf: 8, CONMEBOL: 7, OFC: 3, UEFA 11.

Qatar hosted the inaugural edition of the renamed FIFA Arab Cup in 2021, a year before hosting the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab World.

Following the 2021 final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that the football governing body would continue to oversee future editions.