A competitive LaLiga game, involving Barcelona, in Miami. Sound familiar? The league has been working on the idea for years, without success. Until now.
This week, the scheme finally took its first step towards becoming a reality. The Spanish football federation (RFEF) agreed to pass onto UEFA a request to play December’s matchday 17 LaLiga fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
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There are still plenty of regulatory hoops to jump through, and potential problems to deal with. There’s opposition from some powerful voices in the game — including Barça’s great rivals, Real Madrid — and concerns over the implications of moving away from the traditional home/away paradigm.
But some significant obstacles have already been overcome, and the race is now on — with Italy’s Serie A aiming to stage a fixture in Perth, Australia between AC Milan vs. Como in February — to be the first top European league to play a regular-season match overseas. — Alex Kirkland
How long has a LaLiga U.S. game been in the works?
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has been trying to take a domestic match to the United States for the best part of a decade. The Spanish league first announced in 2018, as part of a multi-year agreement with U.S.-based commercial partner Relevent Sports, that Barça’s league fixture at Girona, scheduled for January 2019, would be played in Miami. Barça eventually withdrew from those plans, citing “a lack of consensus surrounding the proposal” due to opposition from several key organisations, including the RFEF. Later in 2019, LaLiga also failed to relocate Villarreal’s meeting with Atlético Madrid to Miami due to continued resistance within the game.
Tebas was forced to halt plans to take a LaLiga match stateside when the pandemic hit in 2020, but the idea was revived last year when the league attempted to move Atlético’s trip to Barça in December 2024 to the Hard Rock Stadium.
In the end, LaLiga ran out of time to get all the necessary approval, but there is now a belief that some of the previous opposition has thawed. That is certainly the case with the RFEF, but UEFA, FIFA and The U.S. Soccer Federation are among the other organisations which still need to green-light the game. — Sam Marsden
Why is it so much closer now?
The situation has changed. The catalyst was a lawsuit filed by LaLiga’s business partner, Relevent Sports — controlled by Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross — against U.S. Soccer in 2019. Relevent had followed LaLiga’s attempt to play Girona vs. Barcelona in Miami with a bid to hold an Ecuadorian league match at Hard Rock Stadium. U.S. Soccer blocked the match and Relevent sued, alleging that the refusal constituted an unlawful monopoly. FIFA later joined the case as a defendant.
Six years later, the case was dismissed, after Relevent reached agreements with first FIFA, and then U.S. Soccer, although the details of those deals were not disclosed. FIFA is now taking a more open-minded stance, and is exploring the possible impact of allowing domestic leagues to play competitive matches abroad after setting up a working group in May 2024. In a statement in October last year, FIFA said that the working group “is expected to issue its recommendations in the coming months” on issues including “the rules, procedures and processes for authorising interclub football matches or competitions.”
Closer to home, the RFEF is no longer LaLiga’s implacable opponent on the matter. Spanish football’s two governing bodies were once fierce enemies, clashing on one issue after another, but since the resignation of Luis Rubiales as RFEF president — in the aftermath of the outcry which followed his behaviour after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final — relations have improved immeasurably. LaLiga chief Tebas is now a vice-president on the RFEF board headed by president Rafael Louzan — the same board which agreed to raise Monday’s request to UEFA. — Kirkland
Which other organisations have a say?
LaLiga and the RFEF only make up part of the puzzle. Upon announcing its approval for Villarreal to play Barça in Miami this week, the RFEF said it had forwarded the request to UEFA and FIFA, respectively the European and global governing bodies for football.
However, as of Tuesday, spokesmen at both UEFA and FIFA separately told ESPN they had received no such correspondence from the RFEF yet. Therefore, they had no comment on the possibility of the game being played in the U.S. at the time of writing. Both parties need to be on board in order for it to take place.
U.S Soccer will also have some input on the game going ahead on American soil, as will regional confederation Concacaf, although it is not expected to provide major obstacles following the settling of the lawsuit with Relevent Sports. A source told ESPN that U.S Soccer would likely provide an update on its position this week.
Spain’s Professional Footballers’ Association (AFE) has yet to approve the decision, although it has not officially opposed it, either. A source told ESPN the players feel left out of the decision-making process and want more details. The AFE doesn’t need to back the match for it to happen, but it could make things difficult with legal challenges, while it’s obvious that support from the players will make things smoother.
Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and local authorities in the Florida city will also need to be consulted although, given Ross’ involvement, are not expected to provide resistance. However, that does not mean they won’t have other issues to resolve, mind. — Marsden
What other hurdles need to be cleared?
Even if all of those regulatory issues are dealt with, there’s still lots of work to be done. Villarreal’s 19,500 season-ticket holders will need to be compensated for missing out on the visit of Barcelona to the town’s Estadio de la Cerámica, one of the most anticipated games of the season.
Club president Fernando Roig outlined the club’s plans on Tuesday by saying: “Our fans will have some inconvenience, but we’ll take two fundamental measures. Whoever wants to go to Miami, will go to Miami, for free. Whoever doesn’t want to go, or can’t go, will get a 20% discount on their season ticket. Our season-ticket holders will be compensated.”
There’s also a potential fixture clash to be resolved. Villarreal vs. Barcelona is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 20-21. On Sunday, Dec. 21, the Miami Dolphins are due to play Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium in the NFL. The game is currently set for the lucrative “Sunday Night Football” slot. Reconfiguring the stadium from hosting soccer one day to American football the next would be challenging, although at least the venue — unlike some other high-profile NFL stadiums in the United States — does use natural grass, rather than artificial turf. — Kirkland
1:16
Why are Real Madrid LaLiga favourites over Barcelona?
Alex Kirkland can’t understand why Real Madrid are favourites to win LaLiga over Barcelona this coming season.
How soon could we get a competitive Clásico in the U.S.?
Based on Real Madrid’s reaction to this news on Tuesday, not soon — at least certainly not a league game. Madrid president Florentino Pérez and his LaLiga counterpart Tebas lock horns on most issues and that has once again proved the case with these plans.
Madrid said in a statement on Tuesday that the club had asked FIFA not to authorise the match “without the prior consent of all clubs participating in the competition.” They added that the proposal would “give an undue sporting advantage” to the teams involved and “sets an unacceptable precedent.” They also called on UEFA to put pressure on the RFEF to withdraw their request and asked Spain’s Supreme Sports Council (CSD) to step in.
Therefore, it would take quite a U-turn for them to agree to play a LaLiga Clásico in the States. If it is to happen, it may have to be a Spanish Supercopa game (an annual four-team tournament which is currently played in Saudi Arabia), or perhaps even in the final of the Copa del Rey or the UEFA Champions League one day — although there is no indication either of those are on the cards.
The two clubs have played each other at Hard Rock Stadium before. In July 2017, Lionel Messi scored as Barça beat Madrid 3-2 in the International Champions Cup, a preseason tournament organised by Relevant Sports. — Marsden
What’s the general feeling in Spain to this happening?
There’s been no widespread outcry, or the kind of outrage and outright rejection we saw in England when the Premier League proposed its infamous 39th game. But then, this week’s news came as no shock. LaLiga first proposed the idea of playing a game in Miami seven years ago, and since then, the league has repeatedly said that it would eventually happen, as soon as feasibly possible.
Instead, the reaction to this news — as with almost any development in Spanish football — has largely been dictated by which team you support. Real Madrid fans overwhelmingly oppose the idea, believing that it gives an unfair advantage to title rivals Barcelona by replacing a theoretically tricky away tie with a game in neutral territory, where the vast majority of the Hard Rock Stadium crowd will be supporting Barça.
There has also been some nuanced, principled opposition: fans’ group FASFE published a statement on Monday calling it “shameful” that “attempts are being made to pervert our league, by robbing it of its reason for being, which is none other than the fans.”
Reaction in the media has been more focused on the process of getting the Miami game over the line, rather than the fundamental rights and wrongs of playing a league game overseas. There’s also an acceptance that, if LaLiga ever hopes to come close to catching up with the Premier League’s global appeal, then some kind of radical action is needed. There’s a degree of pride at the prospect of a U.S. showcase for Spanish football; but more than that, there’s acceptance, and a feeling of resignation and inevitability. — Kirkland
