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Hello! Christmas in Miami for La Liga? You heard it here first.

On the way:

Miami match: Barcelona and Villarreal could play Spanish league game in America

(Javier Borrego/Europa Press via Getty Images)

Ever since the resolution of a major U.S. legal case, the staging of a European league game on American soil has been a matter of when, not if. Today, we’re one step closer to putting a date on the ‘when’.

Mark down the weekend of December 20-21 this year in your diaries because, if all the ducks get themselves in a row, a La Liga match featuring Barcelona and Villarreal will be headed for Miami, Florida, on or around those dates. There’s enough enthusiasm for the proposal to suggest it will happen, making it the first top-flight fixture involving clubs from Europe to take place in the States.

To rewind a little first, the initiative — a controversial one among those who object to teams playing thousands of miles away from home, predominantly for financial gains — has been in the ether for a long time. La Liga first attempted to take a Barcelona game to the U.S. back in 2018, only to be met by opposition from the powers that be, including world governing body FIFA.

What ensued was an antitrust lawsuit brought by the American promoter behind the plan, Relevent Sports. It challenged both FIFA and U.S. Soccer in court, claiming it should be allowed to host foreign league matches in American cities — and in April this year, the dispute was comprehensively settled.

That development was the starting gun for Relevent to turn the concept into a reality and La Liga, which has been at the forefront of seeking more U.S. exposure, has presented a swift and viable option, involving one of the biggest teams on the planet. Writing for The Athletic, Adam Crafton and Pol Ballus have spelt out the various hurdles which still have to be cleared.

Final barriers

Objections to European games taking place outside their traditional jurisdiction have softened dramatically — but Villarreal-Barca in Miami is not a slam dunk. For one thing, the NFL’s Miami Dolphins have a nationally-televised home game with the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on the night of December 21, and any scheduling will surely prioritise the Dolphins, rather than the other way round.

But in reaching an arrangement which works for all sides, it doesn’t hurt that the founder of Relevent happens to be the Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross. It’s also handy that certain relationships have thawed. La Liga is on better terms with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) than it was previously, and it needs the organisation’s consent to proceed. UEFA and Concacaf, the regional federation concerned, also have to provide the green light, as does the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

In short, plenty of pieces need to fall into place yet, but the impetus is so great that substantial resistance from those who could thwart the concept is hard to imagine. A litmus test will occur today (Monday) when the RFEF formally decides whether to approve La Liga’s request.

La Liga craves a bigger chunk of the U.S. market (hence why it has an office in New York). It trails behind the Premier League commercially and is seeking new horizons. It stands to be the first league to make it to the States — but make no mistake, others in Europe would follow.

News round-up

• USMNT star Yunus Musah could be off to the Premier League. Nottingham Forest are talking to Milan about signing the 22-year-old midfielder. Agreeing personal terms won’t be a problem.
• The transfer market is driving Newcastle United to despair but they’ve just about got a £30.3m deal for Milan defender Malick Thiaw over the line. The 24-year-old should complete a medical today. Star striker Alexander Isak is still MIA, though.
• And to extend the theme of all things Milan, Manchester United are considering loaning Rasmus Hojlund to the Serie A club. The summer arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford make Hojlund surplus to requirements there.
• Here’s an unexpected tale: a year after buying him from Girona, Manchester City have received an approach from Tottenham Hotspur for winger Savinho. Pep Guardiola doesn’t sound keen to sell the 21-year-old Brazilian winger, though.
• Darwin Nunez’s time at Liverpool is over. His £45.9m switch to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia went through on Saturday.
• Mohamed Salah sent a pointed social media post the way of UEFA after Europe’s governing body paid tribute to footballer Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the ‘Palestinian Pele’. Al-Obeid was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last week but UEFA’s message failed to reference how the 41-year-old died.
• Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been reinstated as captain after signing a medical document which will help the club register new signing Marcus Rashford with La Liga.

Shield splintered: Palace cause another upset but Liverpool will not worry

Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace in yesterday’s Community Shield match — England’s annual curtain-raiser for the new season, contested by the reigning Premier League champions and FA Cup holders — shouldn’t worry them too much. History shows that in the past 14 years, only one Community Shield-winning side has gone on to lift the title.

In all, it was a day of ups and downs — the worst of them a disrupted minute’s silence for the late Diogo Jota which had to be cut short. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was charitable about it. His captain Virgil van Dijk less so. On the pitch, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike combined for Liverpool’s first goal and Jeremie Frimpong scored their second. That’s lift-off for £200m-worth of summer signings right there.

The less said about Salah’s penalty in the shootout Palace edged (above) the better. The ball is believed to be somewhere in a tower block outside Wembley. As James Pearce notes, a busy off-season has given Slot some fine-tuning to do — but I’ll be surprised if Liverpool aren’t good to go.

• Palace are getting a taste for trophies and parties but it’s back to business in the next few hours as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rules on whether UEFA was right to demote them from the Europa League into the Conference League.

Handy start… but late goals show Birmingham, Wrexham trials of Championship

Weekend one in the Championship very nearly served up statement wins from two of the clubs with most eyeballs on them: Birmingham City and Wrexham.

Birmingham were within seconds of a 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town (everybody’s pick for the title) when a letter-of-the-law handball decision salvaged a penalty for the visitors. Lyndon Dykes’ right arm is at head height, above, so the call was bound to go against him.

The following afternoon, Wrexham had the beating of Southampton until goals in the 90th and 96th minutes stole the moment from them. The Hollywood memo evidently passed Southampton by.

Two conflicting conclusions to draw here: one, that the Championship will be ruthless with Birmingham and Wrexham, in a way that League One wasn’t last season. But two, that at first glance, both teams are going to cause the second division some trouble. Strap in.

• Southampton striker Damion Downs assisted their winner, on his debut after a £6.8m transfer from Koln in Germany. He’s one of several USMNT internationals in the Championship. Greg O’Keeffe looked into the trend of American forwards gravitating there.

Around TAFC

• Son Heung-min was let loose by LAFC on Saturday and won a penalty (above) in a 2-2 away draw with Chicago Fire. Paul Tenorio turned out to watch a record recruit take his first steps in Major League Soccer.
• I’ve often asked myself this question: why, given the thankless nature of the job, would anybody want to be a referee? That’s the subject of a brilliant podcast put together by Adam Leventhal, featuring PGMOL boss Howard Webb and various Premier League officials. Download it from Apple or Spotify.
• Two good pieces to point you to after Sesko’s transfer to Old Trafford: the inside track on how Manchester United signed him, and a backgrounder on the making of him in Slovenia.
• This interview by Paul Taylor with Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian centre-back Murillo made me laugh. I can’t remember a footballer ever publicly setting themselves the target of scoring a goal from their own half. Bring it on.
• Quiz answer: On Friday, we asked for the missing names in this list (marked in bold) — David Bentley, Dirk Kuyt, Romelu Lukaku, Samuel Eto’o, Salah, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer. They are the eight players who have scored Premier League hat-tricks against Manchester United.
• Most clicked in Friday’s TAFC: Barca’s Ter Stegen ruckus.

And finally…

Any list of the worst club debuts ever invariably includes Jonathan Woodgate’s for Real Madrid. The highlights of his introduction at the Bernabeu in 2005 were an own goal and a second-half red card. “It wasn’t the best,” the English defender said afterwards.

Yesterday, Milan centre-back Andrei Coubis, 21, succeeded in outdoing Woodgate on his first senior start in a friendly against Chelsea — scoring an own goal after five minutes and receiving a red card for a professional foul after 19 (above). More defending like that from Milan this season and Christian Pulisic will have his work cut out up front…

(Top photo: Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)