The Spanish FA supports the historic decision to hold the Villarreal vs. Barcelona match in Miami

The Spanish Football Federation has given its approval to preparations to perhaps host the La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona in the United States.

Thanks to approval from Spain’s football federation to host the match in the United States, Villarreal’s La Liga match against Barcelona in December might become the first European league match to be played outside of the continent.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) declared that its board of directors had approved a joint request by FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF to shift the game from Spain to Miami, Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium, which will host seven World Cup games in 2026.

According to a statement released by the RFEF, “Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona requested that the RFEF board of directors hold their match on matchday 17 of the first division in the United States at its meeting on August 11, 2025.” The Royal Spanish Football Federation will ask Uefa to start the process of getting Fifa to authorize the game, which is scheduled for December 20, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The current date of the match is December 21 at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica. A regular-season match from one of Europe’s top leagues would be played overseas for the first time if it were allowed.

But fans have reacted negatively to the proposal. Together with Barcelona and Villarreal fan organizations, the Spanish Football Supporters’ Association (FASFE) has expressed their “absolute, total, and firm opposition” to the plans.

They warned that if the plan proceeded, they would “take appropriate legal action” and urged the RFEF and the national sports council to “stop this madness” in a joint statement.

Domestic fixture exporting is not a novel concept. Other one-off events have been held overseas in recent years, such the Spanish Super Cup and the Italian Super Cup. In addition, AC Milan is considering scheduling their Serie A match against Como in February in Perth, Australia, given the game falls around the San Siro’s staging of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Football Australia, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), FIFA, and Uefa still need to approve the idea.

FIFA’s present regulations exclude domestic league games from being played overseas, although a working group was established last year to examine the laws. Due to scheduling constraints, La Liga itself had attempted to bring a Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid match to Miami in 2024 but ultimately gave up. The RFEF and the players’ union opposed a plan to hold a Barcelona vs. Girona match in Miami in 2019, hence it was also shelved.

England’s Premier League has continuously prohibited playing games abroad. Richard Scudamore, who was the CEO at the time, proposed an additional round of matches overseas in 2008, but the concept was rejected after receiving harsh criticism from supporters and the media.