December could be historic for LaLiga EA Sports. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) submitted a request to UEFA to authorize the match between Villarreal and FC Barcelona in Miami. The match, corresponding to matchday 17, was scheduled to be played at the Estadio de la Cerámica, in Vila-real.
Knowing this situation, the president of Villarreal, Fernando Roig, has given good news to its members: “Whoever wants to go to Miami, will go for free. And whoever does not want to go or cannot go will have a 20% discount on their season ticket”, Roig said at a press conference, who also guaranteed that everything the 'Yellow Submarine' receives will be reinvested in the fans.
Villarreal, delighted to play against Barça in the United States
In addition, the president added: "It is a great possibility that we can play this match. Historically, if it happens, we will be the first team to have gone abroad to play an official and important match such as the Villarreal-Barcelona on December 20 in the United States", Roig declared.
Although the yellow team will be the home team in the match of matchday 17 of LaLiga EA Sports 25/26 in Miami, the president of the club acknowledged that there will be more fans of the Blaugrana team than of his team. “There will be more support from Barça there, I have no doubt”, he explained.
In turn, Fernando Roig also highlighted the importance for Villareal to play in the United States, since the institution has 12 soccer schools in that country and wants to expand its brand. In addition, he envisions other business opportunities.
Barça will return to the United States after their 2024 tour
In the case of FC Barcelona, it will be their first expedition to the United States since the 2024 pre-season tour. In their first tour with Hansi Flick on the bench, the Culés added two draws and one victory.
Against Manchester City, Barça drew 2-2, but won (4-1) on penalties and then beat Real Madrid for the third summer in a row (2-1). Finally, the match against AC Milan would end in a 2-2 draw, with an Italian victory in the penalty shootout (3-4).
Thus, both LaLiga and the RFEF are still finalizing details to take an official First Division match outside of Spain for the first time in history. Now, the decision is in the hands of UEFA and FIFA, who must approve the permits for this match to take place.
Real Madrid seeks to cancel the Villarreal-Barça match in the USA.
So far, Real Madrid has been the only club to speak out against this match. On Tuesday, the 'Casa Blanca' sent a statement to UEFA and FIFA asking to cancel the dispute of this match, since the decision "violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity that governs league competitions with a double round".
In addition, Madrid accuses the employers of "adulterating the competition" for not having the unanimous support of all LaLiga clubs. The 'Merengue' statement also asks the Higher Sports Council (CSD) to deny the respective authorization to the match.
Since 2018, the only official Spanish competition that takes place outside the country is the Super Cup. In 2018 it was played as a single match in Tangier (Morocco) and, from 2020, it is played in Arabia, with the exception of 2021 (Seville) due to the covid-19 pandemic.