The deal
The RFEF, Spain’s national soccer federation, has given the green light for a potential first-ever European league fixture to be held outside its home country.
The federation granted permission last week for the fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona, last season’s LaLiga champions, in December to be relocated to Miami, making it the first European league match to be staged abroad.
The game is currently scheduled to be played at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica on December 21, and the RFEF will now seek permission from FIFA (global) and UEFA (European) soccer governing bodies to move it to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Why it matters
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.
One of the reasons European leagues, aside from the English Premier League, are keen on the idea is to try and find alternative sources of income, as it looks to match what the Premier League is gaining through the sale of both domestic and international TV rights. In this respect, that league is comfortably ahead of all other competitions worldwide.
The US has long been seen as one of the markets that would be most receptive to regular-season European soccer action.
On this front, Conrad Wiacek, head of analysis and consulting at Sportcal (GlobalData Sport), comments: “LaLiga’s decision to stage Villareal vs Barcelona in Miami is the first step in European soccer’s attempts to build a beachfront for the cash grab expected to take place across North America over the next few seasons.”
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.
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.
Wiacek adds: “UEFA have already signalled their intent by taking on Relevant as their sales agency globally, and given their presence in the US, the direction of travel should be obvious, with no doubt the end goal being a UEFA Champions League final played Stateside by the end of the decade.”
Elsewhere, in terms of other European soccer properties and their overseas expansion plans, 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 2026 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).
On the possible effects of European soccer leagues looking more and more at the US as an expansion market, and moving fixtures there, Wiacek says: “While no one is suggesting that [European] soccer clubs will be relocated, taking games away from home fans not only threatens to loosen the bond between fan and club, it undermines the competitive viability of a league.
“And for what? Owners, especially those new owners from the US, no doubt see their homeland as an opportunity to grow their investment and generate even more revenue. But while soccer has grown in popularity in the US, it still pales into insignificance when compared to the likes of the NFL [American football] and NBA [basketball]. While there may be a limited opportunity, European soccer is largely overestimating the impact it can have stateside, with the recent Club World Cup perhaps the best evidence of this lack of general interest.”
Interestingly, while the drumbeat for matches from European leagues – such as Serie A and LaLiga – to be held overseas is growing louder, the Premier League still seems to be resisting this option.
In the wake of the RFEF news, the English league’s chief executive Richard Masters said: “I don’t think it [a LaLiga game being held in Miami] changes the Premier League’s view on this at all, we don’t have any plans to play abroad.
“It’s not anywhere near my in-tray and it’s not a debate around our table.”
The only previous occasion when there have been serious discussions around a Premier League match being taken overseas was in 2008, when the body’s CEO at the time, Richard Scudamore, proposed a move. However, those plans were eventually shelved after significant criticism from fans and the media, and have not been revisited since.
The details
LaLiga 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’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 has still been met with significant opposition by fan groups of the two clubs, as well as by the Spanish football supporters’ association, FASFE.
FASFE has expressed its “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.
