Soccer

LaLiga still looking at staging Barcelona-Atletico game in Miami later this year

Spanish top-flight sources first indicated a desire to take the match to Miami back in August.

LaLiga wants to take Barcelona’s match against Atletico Madrid in December to Miami (Joan Monfort/AP)
LaLiga wants to take Barcelona’s match against Atletico Madrid in December to Miami (Joan Monfort/AP) (Joan Monfort/AP)
By Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter

LaLiga is still exploring plans to stage the league match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the United States just before Christmas.

Spanish top-flight sources first indicated a desire to take the match to Miami back in August and the PA news agency understands the league remains keen to press ahead.

The game is scheduled for matchday 18, where all matches are currently set for December 22 ahead of television picks, but will require FIFA approval.

FIFA said in May it would set up a working group to look at a revised legal framework for taking domestic league matches overseas, but has not provided any public updates since.

FIFA is working on a new framework on the authorisation of domestic games being played overseas
FIFA is working on a new framework on the authorisation of domestic games being played overseas (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Football’s world governing body first said it was considering changing its authorisation rules on such matches following a settlement it agreed with Relevent Sports in a court case in the United States in April.

Relevent has been seeking to host competitive league games in the US, including LaLiga matches.

On the back of the settlement, LaLiga president Javier Tebas said he hoped to be able to take matches to the US for the 2025-26 season but the league is understood to still be working on making the Barcelona-Atletico match happen this season.

The Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters has said there are no plans to take English top-flight matches overseas.