In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to enable visiting international team physicians to practice in the Commonwealth.

With the FIFA Club World Cup less than five months away and the FIFA World Cup just around the corner in 2026, the eyes of the world will soon be on Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love will be showcased to millions of dedicated fans and dozens of teams from six continents. In fact, eight Club World Cup matches are slated for Philadelphia this summer, with six more planned for next year’s World Cup.

In each of those contests, the athletes will be supported by their traveling team doctors. Under current law, each international doctor would be required to be medically licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine to treat their players, even for just a single match.

To alleviate the administrative, time-intensive burden of medical licensure for visiting team physicians, I am sponsoring this legislation to exempt international team doctors from needing to obtain a Pennsylvania medical license to care for their athletes. Much like how the law treats team physicians licensed in other states, international doctors will be limited to treatment of just their players and will be prohibited from practicing in all health care facilities in the Commonwealth.

As legislators, we must act on this incredible opportunity to ensure that all soccer fans, athletes, and team staff – including team doctors – have a world-class experience in our beautiful Commonwealth. Please consider joining me in this urgent effort by co-sponsoring this legislation.

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 0124: P.L.457, No.112
Printer's No. 0128: P.L.457, No.112