Villarreal’s upcoming La Liga clash with Barcelona in December could make history as the first-ever European league match staged abroad, after the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) gave the green light to plans to host the game in the United States.
The RFEF confirmed it will now seek the necessary approvals from UEFA and FIFA to move the fixture from Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami — a venue set to host seven matches at the 2026 World Cup. The proposed new date is 20 December, one day earlier than originally scheduled.
“At its meeting on 11 August 2025, the RFEF board of directors received a request from Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona to play their match on matchday 17 of the first division in the United States,” the federation said in a statement. “The RFEF will submit the request to UEFA to begin the process for subsequent authorization by FIFA.”
The idea of taking domestic fixtures abroad isn’t entirely new. In recent years, Spain’s Super Cup and Italy’s Super Cup have been held overseas, while AC Milan are exploring plans to play their February Serie A game against Como in Perth, Australia. That proposal is tied to the San Siro hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, though it too requires sign-off from FIFA, UEFA, Football Australia, and the Asian Football Confederation.
For now, FIFA’s regulations don’t permit domestic league matches to be played outside their home country — but the governing body has formed a working group to explore possible changes. This wouldn’t be La Liga’s first attempt either: Barcelona v Atlético Madrid was earmarked for Miami last season before being dropped due to timing issues, while a planned Girona fixture in 2019 was scrapped after resistance from the RFEF and players’ union.
The Premier League, meanwhile, has kept its distance from such proposals. Back in 2008, then-chief executive Richard Scudamore floated the idea of an “extra round” of games abroad — dubbed the ‘39th game’ — but fierce backlash from fans and media quickly saw it abandoned.
If approved, December’s Villarreal–Barcelona showdown could be a landmark moment for European football — and a major test case for whether domestic leagues can truly go global.
