Uefa will decide in September whether to approve a request by the Spanish football federation for Villarreal and Barcelona to contest a La Liga game in Miami in December.
European football’s governing body is expected to discuss the matter at its next executive committee meeting in Tirana on 11 September and, should no move be made to block the request, a landmark move will edge closer to reality. No major league has held a domestic game on foreign territory, despite prolonged attempts from the Spanish top flight to do so. Uefa’s signoff would clear a huge section of path, although the plan also requires approval from Fifa, US Soccer and Concacaf.
There is a broad acceptance within Uefa that the proposal will be difficult to reject without altering its statutes. Even then the plan appears to have irresistible momentum. Potential legal arguments against moving matches abroad have lost weight since the US-based promoter Relevent Sports agreed a settlement with Fifa in April 2024 to dismiss the global governing body from a lawsuit challenging its policy of barring league games from being staged in other countries.
It means the proposal, first made by La Liga before being approved and submitted by the Spanish federation (RFEF), stands a high chance of being accepted. It is unclear whether that would be on a one-time basis or whether the broader principle of taking league games overseas would be agreed to.
If Uefa decides not to obstruct the move it is likely discussions will begin regarding potential limits to the number of times domestic games can be held in other countries. Potential ideas include allowing two games a season to be moved as long as they are between the same teams, so that perceived home or away advantage is neutered.
Meetings involving the various stakeholders are understood to have taken place on the sidelines of the draws for this season’s Uefa club competitions, which were held in Monte Carlo, and are expected to continue over the weekend. Executives from Relevent Sports, who were appointed Uefa’s worldwide marketing and sales partner for the period between 2027 and 2033 this year, have been conspicuous throughout the season launch event on the Côte d’Azur.
Any move to approve the match, which would take place at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, would sit uncomfortably within Uefa’s corridors of power. In an interview this week the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, said: “I don’t think it’s a good thing.” Ceferin expressed unhappiness with the plan but, in line with other key figures within Uefa, admitted legal recourse was limited.
The Italian football federation has given approval for a match between Milan and Como to take place in Perth, western Australia, in February. The reasoning provided is a venue clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. The viability of that fixture will also enter Uefa’s thinking.
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On Wednesday the EU sport commissioner, Glenn Micallef, strongly criticised the scheme in a series of statements on social media. “I’m deeply disappointed by proposals to stage domestic league matches outside Europe,” he said. “This is the first big stress test for governance since the Super League. Strong, community-based clubs are the heart of the European Sport Model. Moving competitions abroad isn’t innovation, it’s betrayal.”