Kylian Mbappe will grace U.S. soccer fans with his presence at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — but the Paris Saint Germain star and his European counterparts could be playing on American soil even sooner, thanks in part to Ligue 1’s ambitious international expansion plans.

France’s top flight is in the final season of its current media rights deals and wants to boost its financial value exponentially with new contracts.

BeIN Sports currently has Ligue 1’s media rights for broadcasts outside of France, for which it pays $85 million annually. Ligue 1 would like that number to triple. 

In an effort to increase what its matches are worth to broadcasters, the league is apparently considering playing regular-season matches in the U.S.

LFP Media CEO Ben Morel, whose company sells Ligue 1’s media rights, said “bringing meaningful games to the U.S.” is a top priority.  “They can’t just be exhibition games,” Morel told Sports Business Journal. “They have to be games that matter.”

Breaking New Ground

While exhibition matches in the U.S. have become a staple for many top European clubs, league competitions have thus far resisted or have been unable to facilitate playing meaningful matches in the U.S.

Spain’s La Liga has been trying to bring a regular-season match to the U.S., but its efforts have been tied up in court.

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has said that he’s open to the idea of playing UEFA Champions League matches in the U.S. Meanwhile, some organizers of the 2026 World Cup have made calls for the English Premier League to play matches in America.

The NFL’s turf controversy is nothing new.

Each time a high-profile player is injured playing on an artificial surface — like Aaron Rodgers suffering a torn Achilles at MetLife Stadium in Week 1 — more players and NFLPA officials call for the league to standardize natural grass fields.

Despite data like that of the 2022 season — the noncontact injury rate was higher on turf — no major progress seems to have been made, with all signs pointing to nothing changing anytime soon.

Half of the NFL’s 30 stadiums have artificial playing surfaces, and seven of them will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ahead of the tournament, grass must be installed at those venues in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Seattle. Canadian stadiums in Vancouver and Toronto will also have to install grass.

With the World Cup taking place in June and July 2026, there’s no guarantee that the venues that will install grass for the event will keep those natural playing surfaces for the coming NFL season.

Money Matters

While specific costs could vary, ESPN reports a natural grass field could require a cold-weather team to spend $2 million to $3 million per year to maintain it — as opposed to approximately $1.25 million to install and maintain turf.

Last season, the Denver Broncos spent $400,000 to replace their grass field before their final game of the year.

However, playing on a natural surface presents its own challenges. During Super Bowl LVII in February, the natural grass at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix was subpar, especially in the second half when a number of players slipped during the game.

Saudi Arabia’s closely watched and hotly debated sports profile will grow even bigger next year when UFC brings an event to the country.

Now part of the newly formed TKO Group Holdings, UFC has signed a deal to bring a Fight Night to Riyadh on March 2. The event will be part of Riyadh Season, a state-sponsored annual sports and entertainment festival coinciding with the local winter. The latest iteration begins later this month with a boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. 

This will be UFC’s first event in Saudi Arabia following 18 prior events in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, including the pandemic-era Fight Island. The agreement also extends a fast-growing international push for both UFC and its sister entity in TKO, WWE. 

Participating fighters in the UFC event will be announced later, and TKO sources pledged a “stacked card.” 

Developed with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, the UFC deal advances a fast-growing sports profile for Saudi Arabia that includes the country’s own, high-spending domestic soccer league, the country’s involvement in LIV Golf, and most recently, a fervent bid to host the 2034 World Cup. 

Saudi Arabia’s SRJ Sports Investments, part of the country’s Public Investment Fund, also holds a minority stake in UFC competitor PFL.

TKO sources also said the Saudi Arabia event in March will likely be the first of many there for UFC in the coming years — but the latest deal will also place further attention and scrutiny on Saudi Arabia’s widely rebuked human rights record.

WWE has held events in Saudi Arabia for nearly a decade and will be in Riyadh next month for its Crown Jewel event. UFC’s presence there will continue a stance by both properties to be generally apolitical.

Juventus has won 36 Serie A championships and was most recently valued at more than $2 billion — but the Italian soccer giant is far from financially healthy. 

In fact, the club recently reported a $130 million loss from the 2022-23 season — better than the $267 million loss from the prior year, but still alarming enough to spur action from the team’s owners.

Juve is seeking a capital raise of more than $200 million. This comes after the storied club previously brought in more than $700 million during two separate raises over the past four years. Juventus’ owners will commit about $135 million as part of the capital raise.

The club’s stock took an initial dip after the earnings report and is down nearly 30% on the year overall. Juventus is currently third in Serie A through eight matches but is banned from European competition this season for breaching Financial Fair Play rules. 

Follow The Cash

Capital raises are a growing trend among international soccer clubs.

Recently, Chelsea raised $500 million from investment firm Ares Management, Liverpool sold a $200 million stake to New York-based private equity firm Dynasty Equity, and Everton was sold to Florida-based 777 Partners for nearly $700 million after initially seeking nearly $200 million in capital funds. 

Additionally, Eagle Football Holdings — which has a stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace and owns Ligue 1 side Lyon — is looking to raise $200 million.