La Liga to revisit US regular-season match plan

La Liga will try again to take a competitive league fixture to the United States, according to president Javier Tebas, as Spain’s top flight continues to pursue international growth beyond pre-season tours and exhibition matches.The league’s most advanced attempt to date centred on moving Barcelona’s match against Villarreal to Miami, with the clubs slated to play at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium on December 20. The plan was ultimately dropped in October amid opposition from clubs, players and fans, with critics arguing it would undermine sporting integrity by shifting a ‘home’ fixture overseas.Speaking in London at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit, Tebas insisted La Liga has not abandoned the idea.Tebas said: “We are going to try again. I’m not sure when. We have to bring it up at the right time. I don’t think it will cause damage. We are talking about one match out of 380 in a season.”La Liga has repeatedly pointed to the international strategy used by US sports, with Tebas citing the NFL and NBA as examples of leagues that have staged regular-season games outside their home markets to grow audiences and commercial value.Last year’s Miami plan had cleared key domestic hurdles, with La Liga securing approval from UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation. However, the proposed match still required wider sign-off across the football ecosystem, and promoter Relevent Sports later said there was insufficient time to properly execute an event of that scale, triggering a postponement that became a cancellation.La Liga has long argued that taking an occasional league game abroad would reflect the global nature of its fanbase and its international broadcast business, while opponents continue to question competitive fairness, travel demands and the precedent it could set for future calendar planning.