By Martin Graham
The league’s long-standing ambition to stage a Spanish league game in the United States crashed after months of build-up and resistance. The proposal, which he intended to bring of Vila-real home match against Barcelona in Miami, promised significant financial rewards and global visibility for Spanish football.
League president Javier Tebas had defended the concept for years alongside Relevent Sports, the American company that co-organizes the project. However, previous efforts to organize similar events in 2018, 2019 and 2024 were stopped by FIFA, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
Momentum finally returned in April 2025 when Relevent settled its long-running antitrust dispute with the USSF, a ruling that officially allowed foreign leagues to play games in the U.S. Four months later, plans for the December 20 showdown at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium were in motion, until the whole operation fell apart.
The approval causes an uproar throughout Spanish football
The first breakthrough came on August 11, when the RFEF Board of Directors endorsed the League’s proposal and announced that UEFA and FIFA would review the necessary documentation. This decision represented the first official approval for a top European league match to be held outside its home country.
The announcement immediately raised issues of fairness. Villarreal was effectively losing home field advantage, while Barcelona benefited from avoiding a trip to the Estadio de la Ceràmica. Critics argued that this undermined competitive balance throughout the league.
A day later, Real Madrid publicly condemned the plan, declaring that it violates “territorial reciprocity” and violates equal competition. His statement accused the League of prioritizing commercial interests over sporting principles, warning of a dangerous precedent. Several other clubs and managers echoed the sentiment, although the debate cooled once the domestic season began.
UEFA reluctantly gives permission
The next major breakthrough came on October 6, when UEFA gave its consent to the Miami event, along with Serie A’s separate plan to host a game in Australia. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin stressed that both approvals were “exceptional” and should not be seen as a new policy.
Although the ruling cleared the final bureaucratic hurdle, it reignited opposition from players. Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong expressed his frustration, saying it was “not fair” for a league game to be played on neutral ground, while others argued the move was purely financial.
The backlash highlighted growing discontent within the League, with more players expressing doubts about the lack of consultation and transparency behind the plan.
Players unite in protest
By mid-October, frustration turned into organized resistance. The Spanish Association of Footballers (AFE) coordinated a symbolic demonstration during matchday 9, in which the players of all the clubs stood still for the first 15 seconds of the game.
The protest denounced the absence of open communication from the League and accused the organizers of ignoring the voices of those most affected: the footballers themselves. Even Barcelona and Villarreal players took part in the gesture, which indicated how widespread the opposition had become.
AFE officials claimed that the decision to move a competitive match abroad did not take into account the approval of the “main participants” in Spanish football and demanded greater dialogue in future decisions.
Madrid’s final blow and sudden collapse
Tensions reached a peak on October 21 when Real Madrid formally appealed to Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD), calling Miami’s proposal a “corruption of the competition”. Dani Carvajal he reinforced the club’s position, insisting that justice must come before commercial gain and that all teams deserve the same conditions throughout the season.
A few hours after the report, Relevent Sports announced the cancellation of the match, citing insufficient time to prepare for such a big event. Although organizers presented it as a matter of logistics, the moment left no doubt that political and institutional pressure had forced the decision.
Javier Tebas expressed his disappointment on social media, claiming that Spanish football had missed an opportunity to expand its global reach. He criticized rivals for invoking “integrity” while, in his view, engaging in manipulative tactics of their own.
Despite their frustration, most La Liga clubs saw the cancellation as a triumph for sporting integrity. What was supposed to be a ground-breaking event for Spanish football ended up as yet another reminder of how divided the league is over its future direction.
