Perth’s push to host a landmark clash between Italian football giants AC Milan and Como in February at Optus Stadium is in tatters.

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.

However, Western Australia’s proposed hosting of the Serie A showdown has not cleared final hurdles, with the sport’s global authority FIFA failing to tick it off.

It is unclear why the match has not been 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.

Sport and recreation minister Rita Saffioti said the state government had been working through a complex approvals process involving five governing sport bodies.

“A number of conditions have been placed on the sanctioning of the game, very late in the piece, conditions that we believe are extremely difficult to meet. However we are working through those with FIFA,” she said.

“We recognise this game represents an incredible opportunity to market Perth and Western Australia to a global audience, like never before.

“Our efforts to secure this world-first match have already generated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of coverage in global media, highlighting how big this event would be for our state.”

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