The Italian Serie A league and the Western Australian government jointly announced on Monday that the Serie A "overseas match" between AC Milan and Como, originally scheduled to be held in Perth, Australia on February 8, 2026, has been officially cancelled.

According to the official statement, this decision was made jointly by the Italian Serie A league and the Western Australian government after consultation. The decision was made due to unavoidable financial risks, stringent and cumbersome approval conditions, and unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.

The initial idea for this "overseas match" was to resolve the venue scheduling conflict between Serie A and the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics: because the Winter Olympics opening ceremony will be held at the San Siro Stadium on February 6, the league match between AC Milan and Como, originally scheduled for February 8, was forced to be moved. The idea of moving the match overseas was proposed against this backdrop and once attracted widespread attention and discussion.

Western Australia's Tourism Minister Rita Safiotti expressed deep regret over the outcome. In a statement, she wrote, "Our government, working closely with AC Milan and Serie A, had great confidence in hosting this world-first event in Perth."

"While disappointing, it was the right decision – we did not want Western Australia to face unacceptable risks."

"We have done everything we can to advance this year-long project, but political factors, legal issues and bureaucracy in the football world have hampered its progress."

“This is unprecedented and has never happened anywhere else in the world. We launched this project because it can bring huge economic returns to Western Australia and help promote the development of football in Australia.”

"Importantly, since no agreement was reached between the two parties, Western Australia neither made any payments nor suffered any losses in the process."

"Over the past six months, Perth has seen an unprecedented surge in discussion in mainstream media around the world and in the European football community, which has brought tremendous exposure to the state and solidified our reputation for hosting world-class events."

“Our relationship with Serie A and AC Milan is stronger than ever, and I want to thank them for their professionalism throughout the process and for their trust in Perth and Western Australia.”

Serie A President Ezio Simonelli added: "Despite Serie A's rigorous and standardized completion of the complex approval and authorization process over the past 12 months, obtaining approval from participating clubs, the Serie A Congress, the Italian Football Federation Federal Council, the UEFA Executive Committee, and the Australian Football Federation, and even accepting some harsh conditions imposed by the AFC at the competitive level, the AFC made more unacceptable demands to the Australian Football Federation, the Western Australian government, and Serie A in the last few hours, ultimately causing the AC Milan vs. Como match originally scheduled for February 8 in Perth to be canceled as planned."

"We deeply regret the termination of this project and firmly believe that this result means that Italian football has missed a great opportunity in its international development process, and also deprives many Serie A fans overseas of their dream of watching the game live."