LaLiga in Miami? One Step Closer to Reality
¿A LaLiga match, with Barcelona as the protagonist, in Miami? Although it sounds familiar, the idea has been a project of years without being realized. However, this week, the plan has finally taken a crucial step towards its realization. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has approved sending UEFA a request for the match of matchday 17 of LaLiga between Villarreal and Barcelona, scheduled for December, to be played at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. There are still numerous regulatory obstacles and potential issues to resolve. There is opposition from important figures in football, including Real Madrid, and concerns about the implications of moving away from the traditional home/away format. However, some significant challenges have already been overcome, and the competition to be the first European league to play an official match outside its territory has already begun. Italy’s Serie A is also seeking to organize a match in Perth, Australia, between AC Milan and Como in February.A Dream of Years: The Story Behind the Match in Miami
The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, has been trying to take a league match to the United States for almost a decade. LaLiga announced in 2018, as part of a multi-year agreement with Relevent Sports, a US-based commercial partner, that the Barça vs. Girona league match, scheduled for January 2019, would be played in Miami. Ultimately, Barça withdrew from those plans, citing “lack of consensus around the proposal” due to opposition from several key organizations, including the RFEF. Later, in 2019, LaLiga also failed in its attempt to move the match between Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid to Miami due to continued resistance within football. Tebas was forced to halt plans to take a LaLiga match to the United States when the pandemic arrived in 2020, but the idea was revived last year, when the league tried to move the Atlético vs. Barça trip in December 2024 to the Hard Rock Stadium.Finally, LaLiga ran out of time to obtain all the necessary approvals, but there is now a belief that some of the previous opposition has softened. This is certainly the case with the RFEF, but UEFA, FIFA, and the United States Soccer Federation are among the other organizations that still need to give the go-ahead to the match.
Contents
LaLiga in Miami? One Step Closer to RealityA Dream of Years: The Story Behind the Match in MiamiWhat Has Changed to Make This Possible?What Other Organizations Have a Say in the Matter?What Other Obstacles Must Be Overcome?When Could We See a Competitive Classic in the United States?What is the General Sentiment in Spain Regarding this Possibility?
What Has Changed to Make This Possible?
The situation has evolved. The catalyst was a lawsuit filed by Relevent Sports, LaLiga’s business partner, controlled by Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, against the United States Soccer Federation in 2019. Relevent had tried to organize a match of the Ecuadorian league at Hard Rock Stadium after LaLiga’s attempt to play Girona against Barcelona in Miami. The United States Soccer Federation blocked the match and Relevent sued, alleging that the refusal constituted an illegal monopoly. FIFA subsequently joined the case as a defendant. Six years later, the case was dismissed, after Relevent reached agreements with FIFA and then with the United States Soccer Federation, although the details of those agreements were not revealed. FIFA is now taking a more open stance and is exploring the possible impact of allowing national leagues to play competitive matches abroad after establishing a working group in May 2024. In a statement in October last year, FIFA said that the working group “should issue its recommendations in the coming months” on issues including “the rules, procedures and processes for authorizing football matches or competitions between clubs”. In the national sphere, the RFEF is no longer an implacable opponent of LaLiga in this matter. The two governing bodies of Spanish football were at one time bitter enemies, clashing on one issue after another, but since the resignation of Luis Rubiales as president of the RFEF, after the controversy that followed his behavior after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, relations have improved enormously. The head of LaLiga, Tebas, is now vice president of the RFEF’s board of directors headed by President Rafael Louzan, the same board that agreed to raise Monday’s request to UEFA.What Other Organizations Have a Say in the Matter?
LaLiga and the RFEF only constitute a part of the puzzle. In announcing its approval for Villarreal to play against Barça in Miami this week, the RFEF said it had sent the request to UEFA and FIFA, respectively, the European and world governing bodies of football. However, as of Tuesday, spokespersons for UEFA and FIFA separately told Alofoke Deportes that they had not yet received such correspondence from the RFEF. Therefore, they had no comment on the possibility of the match being played in the United States at the time of writing this article. Both parties must agree for it to take place. The United States Soccer Federation will also have some influence on the celebration of the match on American soil, as will the regional confederation Concacaf, although it is not expected to present major obstacles after the resolution of the lawsuit with Relevent Sports. A source told Alofoke Deportes that the United States Soccer Federation would likely provide an update on its position this week. The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) has not yet approved the decision, although it has not officially opposed it either. A source told Alofoke Deportes that the players feel excluded from the decision-making process and want more details. The AFE does not need to endorse the match for it to take place, but it could make things difficult with legal challenges, while it is obvious that the players’ support will make things easier. The Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, and local authorities in the city of Florida will also need to be consulted, although, given Ross’s involvement, they are not expected to offer resistance. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have other problems to solve.What Other Obstacles Must Be Overcome?
Even if all those regulatory issues are resolved, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Villarreal’s 19,500 subscribers will have to be compensated for missing Barcelona’s visit to the Estadio de la Cerámica, one of the most anticipated matches of the season. The club president, Fernando Roig, outlined the club’s plans on Tuesday, saying: “Our fans will have some inconveniences, but we will 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 is also a possible match clash to resolve. Villarreal vs. Barcelona is scheduled for the weekend of December 20th and 21st. On Sunday, December 21st, the Miami Dolphins are due to play the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium in the NFL. The match is currently scheduled for the lucrative “Sunday Night Football” slot. Reconfiguring the stadium to host soccer one day and American football the next would be a challenge, although at least the stadium, unlike some other high-profile NFL stadiums in the United States, uses natural grass, rather than artificial turf.
When Could We See a Competitive Classic in the United States?
According to Real Madrid’s reaction to this news on Tuesday, not soon, at least certainly not a league match. Madrid president Florentino Pérez and his LaLiga counterpart Tebas clash on most issues and that has been shown again with these plans. Madrid said in a statement on Tuesday that the club had asked FIFA not to authorize the match “without the prior consent of all participating clubs 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 asked UEFA to pressure the RFEF to withdraw its request and asked the Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD) to intervene. Therefore, a major change of course would be needed for them to agree to play a LaLiga Clásico in the United States. If this happens, it could be a match of the Spanish Super Cup (an annual four-team tournament currently played in Saudi Arabia), or perhaps even in the final of the Copa del Rey or the UEFA Champions League someday, although there is no indication that any of those are on the table. The two clubs have faced 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 pre-season tournament organized by Relevant Sports.What is the General Sentiment in Spain Regarding this Possibility?
There hasn’t been a widespread protest, nor the kind of outrage and absolute rejection we saw in England when the Premier League proposed its infamous 39th game. But, at this point, this week’s news wasn’t a surprise. LaLiga first proposed the idea of playing a match in Miami seven years ago, and since then, the league has repeatedly said it will eventually happen, as soon as it’s feasible.
Instead, the reaction to this news, as with almost any development in Spanish football, has been largely dictated by the team one supports. Real Madrid fans overwhelmingly oppose the idea, believing it gives an unfair advantage to their title rival, Barcelona, by replacing a theoretically difficult away game with a match on neutral territory, where the vast majority of the Hard Rock Stadium crowd will support Barça. There has also been nuanced and principled opposition: the FASFE fan group published a statement on Monday calling it “shameful” that “attempts are being made to pervert our league, robbing it of its raison d’être, which is none other than the fans.” The reaction in the media has focused more on the process of getting the Miami match to take place, rather than the fundamental rights and wrongs of playing a league match abroad. There is also an acceptance that, if LaLiga ever hopes to approach the global appeal of the Premier League, then some kind of radical action is needed. There is a certain degree of pride at the prospect of an American showcase for Spanish football; but more than that, there is acceptance, and a feeling of resignation and inevitability.
