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Sport

22nd Oct 2024

Huge La Liga fixture slated to become first ever league game to be played overseas

Zoe Hodges

La Liga are hopeful Fifa will approve the switch

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid could be the first La Liga game to be played in the United States.

The league fixture between the two Spanish giants that is scheduled for December could be staged in Miami with La Liga officials hopeful that Fifa will approve the plan.

The final decision on the proposal will be made by Fifa, football’s world governing body.

The match is currently scheduled for 22 December, before La Liga pauses for its winter break.

In April, Fifa withdrew from a legal challenge by leading match promoter Relevent, which is seeking to stage overseas league matches in the United States.

A month later, Fifa announced it was setting up a working group to look at the potential impact of competitive domestic matches being played abroad.

Both Atletico and Barcelona are scheduled to play in a four-team Spanish Super Cup in early January, which is being held in Saudi Arabia.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has been vocal of his desire to take La Liga games to other countries.

Last summer he said: “It’s a mark of respect to the US fans [of LaLiga]. We are seeing NBA and NFL playing in Europe or in Mexico. This would resonate in the American market.”

His comments came as Barcelona faced Real Madrid in a friendly in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last summer in front of 82,500 spectators.

Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium is the proposed venue for the December fixture.

It is not the first time Barceolna have looked into plans such as these. In January 2019, Barcelona planned to stage their league match against Girona in Miami but opposition from Spain’s football association and its players’ union meant the idea was scrapped.

League sources say there is still work to do on the plan but they are hopeful of receiving approval to proceed.

The Premier League has previously said that they have no plans to play games overseas.