A burgeoning move by several European men’s pro soccer clubs to play league matches overseas is facing new levels of opposition from fan groups across the continent.
More than 400 supporter groups have petitioned FIFA, UEFA, and national associations to block requests from the Spanish football federation and Italy’s Serie A to allow international matches. LaLiga’s Barcelona is aiming to play Villarreal in Miami in December, while Italian power AC Milan is seeking to have a February 2026 match against Como take place in Perth, Australia.
“Should either of these leagues’ proposals be allowed to go ahead, it would instantly open a Pandora’s box with unpredictable and irreversible consequences,” Football Supporters Europe said in a statement that was co-signed by hundreds of smaller fan groups spanning 25 countries. “Clubs are neither entertainment companies nor traveling circuses. They exist for the benefit of their communities and provide a sense of belonging, where fans have been attending home games for generations. Breaking this vital bond, even temporarily, would undermine the cultural, social, and local roots that give our game its meaning.”
Tension Points
Such a collision between local fan desires for continuity and the expanding business horizons of clubs has been essentially inevitable after a legal settlement last year between Relevent Sports, controlled by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, and FIFA. That resolution led to the governing body reviewing its policy toward blocking domestic games being played in the territories of other federations.
Relevent Sports, which brought the prior legal action and alleged antitrust violations by the global governing body, has since also settled legal claims with the U.S. Soccer Federation and has long worked to play a key role in European soccer powers playing league matches in the U.S. The planned Barcelona-Villarreal match is scheduled to be played at Hard Rock Stadium, also owned by Ross.
Such events are part of a growing push to turn the clubs into global brands, as well as generate additional revenue amid financial struggles for some clubs, and the Spanish federation approved that particular match last month.
The clubs’ desires for international play also mirror the existing operations of many North American pro sports leagues that have global competition as a core element of their schedules. The NFL, for example, will play a record seven games outside the U.S. in 2025, with an eye toward ultimately reaching a 16-game international schedule.
A significant outlier in the European soccer push to play elsewhere, however, is England’s Premier League, which, despite growing economic might, has long resisted scheduling any games outside the country.
UEFA has an executive committee scheduled for next week in Albania, where the international play issue is expected to be raised. Chair Aleksander Ceferin, however, has suggested that despite philosophical objections, the organization’s legal abilities in this area are constrained if the involved federations agree to the moves.
