Game off?! Serie A's plan to host AC Milan vs Como clash in Australia in doubt due to Asian Football Confederation's demands as historic match faces same fate as cancelled Barcelona vs Villarreal venture in Miami

Serie A’s pioneering attempt to export competitive domestic football to international markets has hit a major roadblock. The fixture, initially slated for February 2026 at Optus Stadium in Perth, was designed to capitalise on AC Milan’s global popularity and the growing interest in Italian football in the Asia-Pacific region.

The move was necessitated by the unavailability of the San Siro during the Winter Olympics period, forcing the clubs to look for alternative venues. However, despite initial optimism from Lega Serie A and the clubs involved, the project is now hanging by a thread. According to reports from Italy, the AFC - of which Australia is a member - has imposed administrative blocks that have effectively stalled the process.

AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni said in an interview: "One of the ideas we pursued was to go to Australia to promote Italian football, not to make a financial deal that doesn't exist. I haven't given up on this issue yet, but there are so many authorisations to obtain that I'm starting to get worried. If it falls through, it would be a missed opportunity for Serie A, because our goal is to make Serie A attractive around the world. Serie A earns €200 million a year from international TV rights, the Premier League €2.2 billion, and La Liga €700-€800 million, which is explained by the fact that in recent years they've had two great players in Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The gap with the Premier League needs to be filled, but obviously there are many things to do, including new stadiums, because having beautiful, fully-filled stadiums is the foundation for achieving a certain level of television impact. I'm convinced that after San Siro, many other stadiums will be built in Italy."

The driving force behind this venture was not purely commercial but logistical. With the 2026 Winter Olympics taking place in Milan and Cortina, the iconic San Siro is set to be repurposed for the opening ceremony. This renders the stadium unusable for football from February 6 until late in the month.

AC Milan vs Como was scheduled during this window, on the weekend of February 8. The unavailability of their home ground presented the Rossoneri with a unique dilemma: play at a neutral venue in Italy or attempt something ground-breaking. The club, alongside the league, opted for the latter, identifying Perth as the ideal location to showcase the "Made in Italy" brand.

Optus Stadium, a 60,000-seater venue in Western Australia, was selected to host the Lombardy derby. It was seen as a perfect marriage of necessity and opportunity, allowing Milan to engage their massive Australian fanbase while solving a fixture congestion issue.

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However, the plan has encountered a formidable opponent in international football bureaucracy. While FIFA and UEFA were reportedly open to the idea on an exceptional basis given the Olympic constraints, the final hurdle lay with the host confederation.

Reports indicate that the AFC has withheld the necessary "green light" required to sanction an official European league match on its territory. The first major stumbling block is a reported ban on marketing the event as an official Serie A match. The AFC is allegedly insisting that the game cannot be promoted as a competitive league fixture in a way that might overshadow or conflict with the local A-League. This would effectively force the organisers to present a crucial Scudetto or relegation battle as if it were a pre-season friendly, severely damaging the commercial value of the event.

Even more problematic is the demand regarding officiating. The AFC has reportedly stipulated that the referee and their assistants must be from their organisation, rather than the Italian Referees Association (AIA). For a competitive Serie A match involving points that could decide the title or survival, forcing clubs to play under officials who do not operate within the Italian VAR protocols or interpretation guidelines is seen as a compromise on sporting integrity that neither Milan nor Como can accept.

With the Australian dream fading, the clubs are now scrambling for a domestic solution. The match may be delayed until later in February so that it can be played at San Siro as normal.

The potential collapse of the Perth fixture mirrors the recent failure of La Liga’s own attempt to break the international barrier. Just months ago, the Spanish top flight was forced to abandon plans to stage the Barcelona vs Villarreal match in Miami, Florida.

That initiative, driven by La Liga and promoter Relevent Sports, fell apart due to "insufficient time" to organise the event amidst legal and bureaucratic uncertainty in Spain. Despite receiving similar "reluctant" approval from UEFA to explore the option, the opposition from players' unions, the Spanish FA (RFEF), and the sheer logistical complexity forced a cancellation.

In a statement at the time, La Liga expressed "deep regret" that the project could not go ahead, citing the "uncertainty that has arisen in Spain" as the primary reason for pulling the plug.

It seems Serie A is now learning the same hard lesson: while the desire to globalise European domestic leagues is strong among executives, the governance structures of world football remain a formidable defensive line that is difficult to breach.