UEFA ALLOWS LALIGA AND SERIE A GAMES ABROAD DESPITE PROTESTS
By: Gyang Dakwo
UEFA has given permission for Spain’s LaLiga and Italy’s Serie A to stage one league game each outside Europe, even though many fans and football groups have protested against the idea.
The European football body said on Monday that it had “reluctantly” approved the matches, calling the decision exceptional and not a model for future games. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said it was regrettable but unavoidable under the current football rules.
LaLiga’s match between Barcelona and Villarreal will now be played in Miami, Florida, in late December. Serie A will also take its game between AC Milan and Como to Perth, Australia, on February 8, since Milan’s San Siro stadium will be used for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony that same day.
However, several European supporters’ groups have condemned the moves. They described them as unreasonable, too expensive for fans, and harmful to the environment.
UEFA explained that it still opposes domestic league matches being held outside their home countries. Yet after studying FIFA’s regulations, it found no clear rule that could stop the leagues from going ahead with their plans. Therefore, UEFA said its executive committee decided to approve both requests only as a one-time exception.
Although this development has surprised many football fans, it is not new in other sports. The National Football League (NFL) from the United States has been playing games in London since 2007, and it later expanded to Mexico and Germany. It even added new venues such as Sao Paulo, Dublin, and soon Madrid and Melbourne.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has also been hosting regular-season games abroad for years, including in Japan and several European cities like Berlin, London, Manchester, and Paris.
Rugby has followed the same pattern, as France’s Top 14 league once held its final in Barcelona, while Ireland and New Zealand played in Chicago in 2016. Argentina also faced South Africa at Twickenham in London recently.
Football has long used neutral venues for friendly games and cup competitions. The Spanish and Italian Super Cups have already been staged in Saudi Arabia after earlier editions in China, Qatar, Morocco, and Libya. These arrangements are often aimed at promoting the game globally and attracting new fans.
LaLiga has been eager to host matches in the United States for years, working closely with its partner Relevent Sports. And when FIFA recently launched a working group to review its policies on where matches can be played, it opened the door for UEFA to finally grant this approval.
For now, UEFA insists that these two matches will remain rare exceptions, but the decision may mark the beginning of a new chapter in how European football reaches the rest of the world.
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