The Spanish Football Federation has given the green light, and the La Liga "overseas match" is just one step away?

Written by Han Bing On August 11, 2025, it might become a milestone in world football. The La Liga has finally received approval from the Spanish Football Federation for its long-advocated "overseas match." The match between Villarreal and Barcelona in the 17th round of La Liga on December 20 will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA, which has a capacity of 75,000. The Spanish Football Federation has submitted an application, and once approved, La Liga will become the first league to hold official matches overseas. At that time, other leagues will also follow suit with their "overseas matches."

In November 2018, during the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final, due to clashes between fans of River Plate and Boca Juniors at the Monumental Stadium, CONMEBOL moved the second leg of the final to Madrid. This was the first time a continental club championship final was held outside the continent of the participating teams. This match further fueled La Liga's enthusiasm for promoting the "overseas match."

As early as 2018, La Liga president Tebas planned to hold a match between Girona and Barcelona in Miami that December, but faced fierce opposition from Spanish Football Federation president Rubiales and the Spanish players' union, compounded by FIFA's veto, resulting in the plan being abandoned.

In 2019 and 2024, La Liga attempted twice to hold an "overseas match" in Miami, featuring Atlético Madrid against Villarreal and Barcelona, but both plans also fell through.

In addition to the opposition from the Spanish Football Federation, players' union, and fan organizations, the biggest obstacle to La Liga's push for "overseas matches" is FIFA's regulations—FIFA does not allow leagues under its member associations to hold matches outside their jurisdiction. However, the Super Cups of various countries are not included in the ban, as Italy, France, and Spain's Super Cups have already taken place overseas. Nevertheless, given the unstoppable trend of promoting overseas matches in the top five leagues, FIFA established a working group last year to explore the possibility of lifting the ban on "overseas matches."

The La Liga "overseas match" is just one step away from taking place in Miami, thanks to Relevant Sports, a North American event promotion agency. This organization has been trying to bring top European events to North America and successfully hosted the International Champions Cup, but they are clearly not satisfied with just organizing friendly matches. In 2019, Relevant Sports planned to host an Ecuadorian league match in North America, but it was also vetoed by FIFA. The agency took FIFA to court, arguing that the latter hindered fairness and autonomy in club football. In May 2024, FIFA reached a legal settlement with Relevant Sports, lifting the ban on hosting "overseas matches."

Relevant Sports is the promoter of La Liga's events in North America, with a contract that includes terms for hosting "overseas matches." La Liga hopes to replicate the success of the NFL by establishing official matches in Europe, Mexico, and Brazil, thus opening up the global market. On November 16 of this year, the NFL's Miami Dolphins will play an overseas regular-season game against the Washington Commanders at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Barcelona is eager to play La Liga matches in Miami as a countermeasure in commercial promotion against their rivals, Real Madrid. It is reported that this overseas match could bring Barcelona an income of 5 to 6 million euros. To gain fan support, Villarreal's president Roig even expressed willingness to provide free flights for season ticket holders traveling to Miami.

Behind Barcelona and Villarreal is the entire European anticipation for the lifting of the "overseas match" ban. In June of this year, Birmingham City and Wrexham, both backed by American investors, hoped to play "overseas matches" in the U.S., but were denied by the English Football League (EFL). The Serie A plans to hold an "overseas match" in Perth, Australia, in February next year, featuring AC Milan against Como, citing a scheduling conflict with the Winter Olympics at the San Siro Stadium. Currently, this "overseas match" plan has not yet received approval from the Australian Football Association, the AFC, and FIFA. If La Liga's "overseas match" is approved first, it will also pave the way for Serie A's Australian "overseas match."

Although the Premier League has recently expressed no intention to host "overseas matches," back in 2008, Premier League CEO Scudamore proposed the idea of a "39th round" of overseas matches. If La Liga's "overseas match" succeeds, it will open a new world for North American football across all of European football.