Barcelona LaLiga game in Miami moves step closer

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has given its approval to a request from LaLiga clubs Barcelona and Villarreal to play a league match in Miami this season.

ESPN reported on Sunday that RFEF executives were set to discuss the issue in a board meeting on Monday, in the first step in a process which would see a Spanish first division game being played overseas for the first time.

Villarreal are due to host Barcelona on Matchday 17 in LaLiga this season, scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 20, 2025.

Both clubs have now asked for the game to be played at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, rather than Villarreal's Estadio de La Cerámica.

"In its meeting on Aug. 11, 2025, the board of the RFEF has learnt of the request from clubs Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona to play their matchday 17 first division game in the United States," the RFEF said in a statement on Monday.

"After receiving and reviewing the paperwork received, and after the approval of the board, the RFEF will pass on the request to UEFA to begin the procedures for FIFA's prior authorisation of the game at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, on December 20 2025, in accordance with FIFA's international game regulations and the applicable rules approved by the RFEF."

Playing a competitive match in the United States has long been a top priority for LaLiga, with league president Javier Tebas telling ESPN last year that he hoped to do so during the 2025-26 campaign.

LaLiga's first bid to play a game in Miami involved a match between Barcelona and Girona in January 2019, but the league was forced to back down after the plan met opposition from the RFEF, UEFA and FIFA.

In 2024, FIFA set up a working group to analyze the consequences of playing competitive domestic matches overseas, having previously opposed the concept.

The move came after FIFA and the US Soccer Federation faced legal action from LaLiga's U.S. partners, Relevent Sports, over the blocking of the league's proposal.

The parties later reached an agreement, and the suit was dismissed, while the RFEF is also now supportive of the plans under new president Rafael Louzan.

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In July, Italy's football federation gave its backing to a Serie A request to play this season's league game between AC Milan and Como -- scheduled for February -- in Australia.

In the case of Villarreal vs. Barcelona, all the federations involved -- the RFEF, USSF, UEFA, CONCACAF and FIFA -- would need to sign off on the move.

The Supercopa de España is already played abroad, with the RFEF holding the competition in Saudi Arabia in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.