LaLiga has made a significant step in its attempts to stage a regular season fixture in the US after a request from the top Spanish league was approved by the RFEF, the country's national soccer federation, for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The RFEF has granted permission for the fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona in December to be relocated to Miami, making it the first European league match to be staged abroad.
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The game is currently scheduled to be played at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica on December 21, but the RFEF will now seek permission from the FIFA and UEFA soccer bodies to move the game to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
In a statement, the federation has said: “At its meeting on August 11, 2025, the RFEF board of directors received a request from Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona to play their match on matchday 17 of the first division in the United States.
“After receiving and reviewing the paperwork received, and after the approval of the board, the RFEF will pass on the request to UEFA to begin the procedures for FIFA's prior authorisation of the game at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, on December 20, 2025, in accordance with FIFA's international game regulations and the applicable rules approved by the RFEF.”
Playing a competitive match in the US has been a long-term priority for LaLiga, with league president Javier Tebas last year saying that he hoped to do so during the 2025-26 campaign.
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By GlobalDataLaLiga first tried to stage a league game in the US in 2018, but the plan was blocked by several bodies, including the RFEF, FIFA, UEFA, and the US Soccer governing body.
FIFA first announced its foreign match policy in October 2018 after global sports events promoter Relevent Sports attempted to arrange with LaLiga to host a match between Barcelona and Girona in Miami.
Barcelona eventually had to withdraw from the agreement, and Relevant, controlled by the NFL’s Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, subsequently sued US Soccer in September 2019 after it stopped a match in Miami between two Ecuadorean teams, with FIFA added as a defendant in the case a year later.
Then, in April 2024, FIFA settled an antitrust lawsuit with Relevent, which had accused the organization of illegally banning foreign teams and leagues from playing official matches in the US.
The settlement came more than a year after the federal appeals court in Manhattan, New York, revived Relevent's case, which a trial judge had originally dismissed in 2021.
Relevent then settled its case with US Soccer in April this year to end a long-running dispute with the national governing body.
FIFA's rules currently do not allow domestic league matches to be played abroad, but last year it set up a working group to look into the matter, having previously opposed the concept.
This effectively opened the door for LaLiga to push through its plans. The league’s argument for playing a match overseas has also been strengthened by the fact that the RFEF has been staging the Spanish Super Cup as a four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia in recent years as part of a lucrative contract.
However, the potential fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami has been met with opposition by fan groups of the two clubs, as well as by the Spanish football supporters' association, FASFE.
FASFE have expressed their “absolute, total, and firm opposition” to the plans, and in a joint statement, urged the RFEF and the national sports council to “stop this madness”, warning they would “take appropriate legal action” if it went ahead.
The Italian Super Cup has also been held in Saudi Arabia in recent seasons, and heavyweights AC Milan are now hoping to play their Serie A match against Como in the upcoming season in Perth, Australia, in February, as the fixture clashes with their San Siro stadium hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
While the Italian soccer federation has granted approval to Serie A for this match to be held in Australia, the plans have yet to receive approval from FIFA, UEFA, Football Australia, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
In the case of Villarreal vs Barcelona, all the federations involved – the RFEF, US Soccer, UEFA, CONCACAF and FIFA – will still need to sign off on the move.
In 2008, then English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore proposed playing an extra round of fixtures abroad, but the plans were shelved after criticism from fans and the media and have not been revisited.
LaLiga initially created its LaLiga North America arm in 2018 as part of a 15-year joint venture with Relevent.
Based in New York, LaLiga North America is headed up by chief executive Boris Gartner, and the board of directors also comprises Tebas, Ross, and Relevent chief executive Daniel Sillman.
The joint venture comprises a team of more than 25 people, including a commercial and business development unit, and a development and production content team, LaLiga North America Studios, based in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Relevent has become a major player in soccer and was earlier this year confirmed as the exclusive commercial rights holder for UEFA’s array of men's club competitions between 2027 and 2033, replacing long-time UEFA partner Team Marketing.
