Atletico Madrid to host league match in Miami

So far, Spanish football clubs have only played on American soil in preparation for the season. The Spanish league association LFP now wants to change this – and is thus once again pushing ahead with its internationalisation plans.

Spanish runners-up Atletico Madrid could soon stop off in the USA for a guest appearance of the national football league. Together with the League Association (LFP) and opponents FC Villarreal, Atletico submitted a formal request to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Thursday to postpone the league match. The association announced it in a press release.

Instead of being held as planned at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, the game of the 16th matchday will be played at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. To this end, the game will be brought forward by two days to 6th December, and the kick-off at the home of the NFL team Miami Dolphins is scheduled for 10 p.m. Spanish time.

As the Spanish online newspaper “El Confidencial” reports, Villarreal will be compensated for the loss of earnings of the home game. There will also be charter flights for interested fans.

Fifa and Uefa reject USA guest appearances so far

The League Association is thus once again pushing ahead with its internationalisation plans. In the run-up to the season, FC Barcelona should meet FC Girona in Miami at the end of January. The clubs and the league association had also agreed on this guest appearance at that time. In the end, however, the first Primera Division match on international soil failed due to widespread resistance.

The Spanish Football Association, the players’ union and Fifa and Uefa all rejected the visit. In the meantime, the LFP had even tried to force the match to be played by bringing an action against the RFEF before Barca withdrew from the project because of the disputes. The league association had signed a contract with the US company Relevent in 2018, after one game per season will be played in the USA or Canada in the next 15 years.