Lamine Yamal playing an actual regular-season match for Barcelona at the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins? It could happen.
Soccer fans in the U.S. have long been used to seeing some of Europe’s biggest clubs play exhibition matches and friendlies during the summer, but now Spain’s LaLiga is closer to hosting a regular-season match stateside.
And it would include the league’s defending champions.
The Spanish soccer federation on Monday approved a request for the match between Barça and Villarreal to be played in Miami on Dec. 20. The federation will now seek approval from soccer governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.
The 17th-round match in LaLiga would be played at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Staging a match abroad has been part of the league’s goal of promoting soccer and its brand in other countries. The league is in a long-term partnership with sports and entertainment group Relevent Sports, which is part of Stephen Ross’ portfolio of companies including Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Dolphins, the Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix and the Miami Open tennis tournament.
LaLiga has been pushing to host a regular-season match in the U.S. for numerous years, similarly to the way the NFL has hosted games in Europe, Mexico and Brazil.
In 2018-19, the Spanish league proposed a game between Barcelona and Girona. Another game between Villarreal and Athletico Madrid for the following season fell through.
Interestingly enough, the Dolphins will be playing a regular-season game in Spain – taking on the Washington Commanders on Nov. 16 at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium – home of Barcelona’s longtime rivals, Real Madrid.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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