- Sources in the US are hopeful the drastic change in venue will be approved
- LaLiga president Javier Tebas has made no secret of wanting a game abroad
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La Liga could play its first ever domestic fixture on US soil as early as this December if FIFA, UEFA and the Spanish FA give the go-ahead.
Barcelona are due to play Atletico Madrid at Barcelona’s temporary Olympic Stadium on the weekend of December 22 but all three parties are working on taking the fixture to Miami and permission from the Spanish Football Federation, UEFA and FIFA, as yet still to be sought, would represent the final hurdles to be crossed.
Sources in the US have told Mail Sport they are hopeful of the switch being approved and the game going ahead.
Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, has made no secret of wanting to play a league fixture in the US for some time.
Last summer he said: ‘It’s a mark of respect to the US fans [of La Liga]. We are seeing NBA and NFL playing in Europe or in Mexico. This would resonate in the American market.’
Barcelona’s LaLiga match against Atletico Madrid could take place at the Hard Rock Stadium
The fixture is set for late December but talks are underway over moving it to the United States
Barcelona faced Real Madrid in a friendly in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last summer in front of 82,500 spectators.
Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium is the proposed venue for the December fixture.
The Spanish FA has previously opposed the idea of taking a competitive fixture abroad. La Liga made two failed attempts in 2019 to play one of its fixtures on US soil but they were both while Luis Rubiales was Spanish FA president.
La Liga tried without success to move Girona v Barcelona, and subsequently Villarreal v Atletico Madrid away from Spain. In the post-Rubiales era there is more optimism that La Liga would be backed by Spain’s national association.
FIFA have always opposed the idea. The world governing body’s rules state that official league games must be played within the territory of the respective member association.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has made no secret over wanting a league game played in the US
Sources in the US are hopeful the drastic change in venue will be given the green light
But La Liga has taken UEFA president Alexander Ceferin’s aspirations to hold a Champions League final in the US one season as an indication of a softening of the resistance to the idea.
Barcelona played a friendly in Dallas last December and are the club in Spain most open to the idea. They are also the club in most financial need of the benefits of a US payday.
The financially-troubled club have a debt recently estimated at 2.5 billion by Victor Font who was current president Joan Laporta’s main rival in the club’s most recent elections.
They lost an estimated 50m euros playing away from the Spotify Camp Nou last season while the arena is being renovated.
Their temporary home at Montjuic only holds 45,000 spectators.
Barcelona played a friendly in Dallas, Texas, last December and are open to the idea
Diego Simeone’s Atletico would also benefit financially and not lose out on a home fixture
The club are hopeful that they will be able to return home at the start of 2025 but building work will only be half finished and capacity will only be at 60,000. Work is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026 on the new stadium which will hold 105,000.
Barca are currently over their official La Liga salary spending limit and have struggled to register players in recent transfer windows. The Miami game would boost their income.
Atletico Madrid would also financially benefit and not lose a home fixture. There is likely to be dissent from some of the remaining 18 clubs in Spain’s first division because the two teams taking part in the Miami match would be gaining a financial advantage over the rest.
