Perth’s historic AC Milan ‘match for points’ scrapped

2 months ago 14

Perth’s plan to host a landmark clash between Italian football giants AC Milan and Como in February at Optus Stadium has been cancelled after FIFA failed to give the green light to the historic match.

Sports Minister Rita Saffioti confirmed the game had collapsed on Monday night.

Italian soccer giants AC Milan were lined up for an historic Serie A fixture – in Perth.

“The WA Government and Serie A have mutually agreed not to proceed with plans for the AC Milan v Como 1907 fixture due to onerous approval conditions beyond our control,” she said.

“This match would have been an historic world-first, no other European match for points has been played on foreign soil.

“But unfortunately, international football bodies approved the match with extraordinary conditions, meaning we simply could not pursue the fixture any longer.”

The historic match-up was set to be the first European league match played for points on foreign soil, and was in October “reluctantly approved” by the continent’s governing body UEFA.

The final sign-off was required from football global governing body, FIFA.

It is unclear why the match was not given final approval, but the proposal faced significant backlash from fans opposed to playing league games overseas.

AC Milan first began a search for a host in February because of the unavailability of the club’s 75,000-seat stadium, San Siro, due to the Winter Olympics.

The club had already established a strong relationship with the WA government having played pre-season friendlies in Perth, while Australia was viewed as a favourable destination with a strong fan base.

It placed Optus Stadium in the box seat for hosting rights to the watershed clash, which was scheduled to be played in the middle of an action-packed fortnight for the ground, including an Ed Sheeran concert on February 1 and AFL’s State of Origin blockbuster on February 14.

Saffioti said AC Milan had initially approached WA to host the game.

“There was no guidebook for this, this has never happened anywhere in the world before,” she said.

“We embarked on this project because of the huge economic payoff for our state and how it would help grow the world game in Australia.

“Importantly, no payments were made, nor has WA lost out through this process, as no agreement was reached.

“Our government will always chase the biggest and best events in the world to attract visitors to WA, create local jobs and diversify our economy.”

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