LaLiga president Javier Tebas said on Wednesday that the league intends to proceed with its plan for the Barcelona league fixture against Villarreal to be played on Dec. 20 in Miami after UEFA cleared the way for the match to be moved to the United States earlier this week.
Tebas made his comments when speaking to ESPN’s Fernando Palomo at the World Soccer Summit on Wednesday in Miami.
The Spanish league must now submit an application to U.S. Soccer and Concacaf for final approval on playing the game in the U.S. FIFA will play no role in the decision, a source told ESPN.
Villarreal were due to host Spanish champions Barça at the Estadio de la Cerámica on the weekend commencing Dec. 20, but LaLiga said the game will now be moved to the Hard Rock Stadium.
Wednesday’s statement from Tebas comes after UEFA said earlier this week it had reluctantly agreed for two European league games to be played abroad, the other being the request from Italian sides AC Milan and Como to play in Perth, Australia, in February.
If finally approved by all parties involved, Barça’s match against Villarreal will become the first fixture from one of Europe’s big five leagues to be played on foreign soil, copying a model which has been implemented by the NFL and the NBA in recent years.
LaLiga have been trying to relocate a game to the U.S since 2017, but have encountered significant opposition in that time, notably from the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF].
However, the RFEF announced in January it had finally approved plans for a league fixture to be moved to Miami.
Then, earlier this week, UEFA announced it had also reluctantly agreed to the proposals from the Spanish and Italian leagues.
European football’s governing body said it was in “clear opposition to domestic league matches being played outside their home country,” but that FIFA’s regulatory framework is not currently clear and detailed enough for the requests to be rejected.
Those regulations are currently being reviewed by a working group put together by FIFA, with UEFA pledging to update them to avoid games being relocated in the future.
“UEFA will actively contribute to the ongoing work led by FIFA to ensure that future rules uphold the integrity of domestic competitions and the close bond between clubs, their supporters and local communities,” a statement said.
A source told ESPN that FIFA will play no role in the decision relating to the Villarreal-Barcelona match, meaning the final word comes down to U.S. Soccer and Concacaf as the host association and the host confederation.
Once they receive the request, U.S. Soccer and Concacaf will consult with key stakeholders — advisors, league officials and other prominent individuals in North American football — before making a call.
There is no established timeline on how long the decision from U.S. Soccer and Concacaf can take.
There also remains significant opposition within Spain, from the Players’ Association (AFE) and LaLiga clubs, with Real Madrid saying a match outside of Spain “distorts” the competition.
While none of them can halt the process of the game being taken to the U.S. immediately, they could escalate the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
There’s also a potential fixture clash to be resolved. Villarreal-Barcelona is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 20-21.
On Sunday, Dec. 21, the Miami Dolphins are due to play Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium in the NFL. The game is currently set for the lucrative “Sunday Night Football” slot.
Reconfiguring the stadium from hosting soccer one day to American football the next, or vice versa, would be challenging, although sources have told ESPN it would be possible.
ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano contributed to this report.
