LaLiga officially announced on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, that it is abandoning its plans to hold a league match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami this December. The decision comes amidst “the uncertainty that has plagued Spain over recent weeks.”
Although UEFA, European football’s governing body, had reluctantly approved the match’s relocation to the United States two weeks prior – stating it found no existing FIFA framework to object – player dissatisfaction quickly mounted.
Players across LaLiga staged coordinated protests over the weekend, standing still for the initial 15 seconds of their games. This action, organized by the Spanish Footballers’ Association, was a direct response to the league’s perceived “lack of transparency, dialogue, and coherence.”
In an official statement, LaLiga expressed profound regret that “this project, which represented a historic and unparalleled opportunity for the international expansion of Spanish football, will not be able to move forward.” The league highlighted its belief that “holding an official match outside our borders would have been a decisive step in the global growth of the competition, strengthening the international presence of clubs, the positioning of players, and the visibility of Spanish football in a strategic market such as the United States.”
LaLiga insisted that the initiative “fully complied with all federative regulations and did not affect the integrity of the competition,” noting that regulatory bodies had confirmed compliance but opposed it for “other reasons.” The statement further argued that “renouncing such opportunities” to explore new markets ultimately “hinders the generation of new income.”
LaLiga had collaborated with the promotion company Relevent on this venture. Relevent issued a statement to The Athletic earlier on Tuesday, clarifying that the game’s plans were “postponed” due to insufficient time to execute the event to their desired standards.
The partnership between LaLiga and Relevent, along with Stephen Ross, owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, aimed to bring the Barcelona-Villarreal fixture to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on December 20.
Logistically, staging the match that weekend would have been challenging. The Dolphins already had a “Sunday Night Football” game scheduled against the Cincinnati Bengals on December 21, potentially conflicting with a College Football Playoff first-round game for the Miami Hurricanes at the same stadium on December 20.
With the Miami plans now abandoned, the Barcelona-Villarreal match will proceed on December 21, as initially scheduled.
Barcelona players and coach Hansi Flick were vocal about their disapproval of additional travel, especially with the team already slated for the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in early January. “It’s not good for the players. You have to travel a lot,” commented Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in October. He added, “It’s also not fair in terms of competition. For us, it’s now an away match on neutral ground.”