La Liga have announced the shock decision to cancel plans to host Villarreal’s home fixture against Barcelona at the end of December in Miami, USA. The announcement comes less than three weeks after the league had confirmed the game.
The plan had been on the table for the past eight years, but has never come this far due to institutional disagreements. This time La Liga had all of the green lights necessary from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and UEFA, that might have halted their plans. Yet with exactly two months before the clash, the promoters of the event have pulled out.
_More to follow_
La Liga’s official statement
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_LALIGA deeply regrets that this project, which represented a historic and unparalleled opportunity for the internationalization of Spanish football, cannot go ahead._
_Hosting an official match outside our borders would have been a decisive step in the global expansion of our competition, strengthening the international presence of the clubs, the positioning of the players, and the brand of Spanish football in a strategic market such as the United States._
_The project fully complied with federation regulations and did not affect the integrity of the competition, as ratified by the competent institutions that oversee compliance, which were opposed for other reasons._
_In a context of increasing global competitiveness, where leagues like the Premier League and competitions like the UEFA Champions League continue to increase their reach and resource-generating capacity, initiatives like this are essential to ensuring the sustainability and growth of Spanish football._
_Forgoing these types of opportunities hinders the generation of new revenue, limits clubs’ ability to invest and compete, and diminishes the international reach of the entire Spanish football ecosystem. Finally, LALIGA would like to thank the clubs for their willingness and collaboration in this project, as well as their ongoing commitment to the growth of the competition._
_We will continue working, as always, to bring Spanish football to all corners of the world, championing an open, modern, and competitive vision that benefits clubs, players, and fans._