Spanish league match to be played in Miami

The match between Villarreal and champions Barcelona is scheduled to take place on December 20 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Spanish FA RFEF gave the go-ahead for the league's plans at a board meeting.

An application will now be submitted to the European association UEFA so that the procedure for the necessary subsequent approval by the world governing body FIFA can be initiated, according to the RFEF communiqué.

Never before has a match of the top Spanish football league been played outside of Spain - Miami would thus be the venue for a historic experiment. With this move, the league hopes to further establish its brand in the USA and attract new fan groups.

La Liga president Javier Tebas had already fought in vain in the past for the long-controversial move. Previous attempts failed due to resistance from the RFEF under the then association boss Luis Rubiales - and some ended up in court. Tebas gets on better with the new RFEF boss Rafael Louzan.

However, the plan is not entirely uncontroversial: the players' union and individual members of the RFEF board criticized the approach as one-sided and without sufficient consultation with clubs and professional representatives. Miguel Galan, President of the National Center for the Education of Football Coaches, even announced that he would take legal action against the plan. He assured that record champions Real Madrid share his view.