LaLiga got one key step closer to hosting a regular-season match in the U.S. on Monday.
The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) approved a request from clubs Villarreal and Barcelona to play their match the weekend of Dec. 20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The match is currently scheduled for Dec. 21 at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, but the Spanish federation said the game would be moved a day earlier. The Dolphins will host the Bengals on Dec. 21 for Sunday Night Football.
LaLiga has been pining for a match in Miami since 2018, but met resistance from the Spanish federation and FIFA.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been eager to partner with LaLiga through his international soccer promoter Relevent Sports. After unsuccessfully trying to stage a LaLiga match, Relevent in 2019 filed an antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, claiming USSF banned it from hosting an Ecuadorian league game to protect MLS and its marketing arm. Relevent added FIFA as a defendant the next year. The suit was dismissed in 2021, but revived by a judge in 2023. FIFA settled in 2024, and USSF settled with Relevent in April. This will be the second straight December that LaLiga tries to play a match in Miami, after last year’s efforts fell through.
The request now moves up the food chain. UEFA, FIFA, USSF, and Concacaf will all need to sign off, although that appears increasingly likely.
FIFA has a long-standing ban on teams playing domestic league games abroad. But the rule has been under pressure in several courts, including the Relevent case and the Super League battle in the European Court of Justice, leading FIFA to form a working group last year to consider a change. Last month, the Italian football federation gave its approval to Serie A to host a February match between AC Milan and Como in Australia, which still awaits approval from other federations.
