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Sam Marsden
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Moises Llorens
Oct 23, 2024, 09:21 AM ET
LaLiga continue to work on staging Barcelona‘s home fixture against Atlético Madrid in Miami on the third weekend in December, but several pieces still need to fall into place for the plan to go ahead, various sources have told ESPN.
The Spanish league has been working on taking a game to the United States for several years, but have previously been met by opposition from the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF], FIFA and U.S Soccer, among others.
However, sources say some of those issues have now thawed and that there is a real possibility of taking Barça’s game against Atlético to the Hard Rock Stadium.
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Relevent Sports Group, who are working on the project in collaboration with LaLiga, would not comment on any recent developments.
A source at FIFA acknowledged that LaLiga and the clubs are working on the plan but did not make the governing body’s new position immediately clear.
The Miami Dolphins are set to host the San Francisco 49ers at the Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 22.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has repeatedly spoken of his desire to play a regular season game abroad, while sources told ESPN that the news “would not have come out” if both clubs did not maintain an interest in being involved.
Barça and Atlético have both been involved in previous plans to take a game to the States, although neither Barça’s match against Girona nor Atlético’s with Villarreal ended up being moved in the end.
At the time, that was due to resistance from several sporting bodies, although the stances at some of those organisations have altered following a landmark court case earlier this year.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Relevent’s antitrust lawsuit to go forward against FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation over the world governing body’s policy of not permitting a country to host league matches involving teams from other countries.
The Miami Dolphins are set to host the San Francisco 49ers at the Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 22. Rich Storry/Getty Images
Despite that win, there remain other unanswered questions. The situation at the RFEF is the most complicated, for example, as the institution is without a president until Dec. 16. However, a source suggested the interim board would be able to sanction the playing of a match abroad.
UEFA, who govern football in Europe, would also have to green light the plans.
“UEFA has not been approached regarding this matter,” a spokesman for the body told ESPN. “The process to follow in such cases is to have agreement from the clubs, the RFEF, U.S Soccer, CONCACAF and only then from UEFA.”
