Official: La Liga announce details of Villarreal vs Barcelona in the USA | OneFootball

Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, has been in an effort to take a league game overseas for several years now, but his idea has failed time and time again owing to resistance from fans, clubs, and administrative bodies.

This season, however, his plan has been close to fruition for a long time as he proposed to take Barcelona’s clash against Villarreal, scheduled to take place at Estadio de La Ceramica, to Miami in the United States of America.

It is now official!

Now, it is official, and Barcelona will indeed face the Yellow Submarines in North America, marking history in the first-ever La Liga game to take place outside Spain.

Tebas himself broke the news as made it official that the Spanish league game would be played overseas when he spoke at the Sports Summit USA 2025.

It will indeed take place in Miami, and the date has been set as the 20th of December this year, just over two months from the date of announcement.

The idea of taking a league game overseas is the same as has been followed in competitions like the NBA – to boost viewership and improve the popularity of the team by bringing it closer to fans – thus improving the overall value of the league.

“I think that, in the absence of some small formal issue, it is practically finished. And to be able to say that next Saturday, December 20, an official League match will be played in Miami,” Tebas said in his speech, as relayed by SPORT,

“Villarreal – FC Barcelona, a match with points at stake that instead of being played at the La Cerámica stadium will be played at the Hard Rock in Miami,” he added.

Further commenting on the game, Tebas, as part of La Liga’s official press release, stated: “With this match, we take a historic step that elevates La Liga and Spanish football to a new level. We understand and respect the concerns this decision may generate, but it’s important to put it in context: this is just one match out of 380 that make up the season.

“La Liga represents millions of fans around the world, including many who passionately follow their teams and deserve the opportunity to experience them live at least once.

“This match seeks to bring our football closer to this global fan base without undermining our commitment to those who enjoy it in Spain’s stadiums every matchday.”

With even UEFA siding with Tebas in terms of providing the green light for the game to go ahead, there is not much opposing parties can do at this point to spoil the party.

Whether it is a good move or not for La Liga is a topic for discussion on another day, but what is clear is that history will be written in December as La Liga will hit a special milestone.