Soccer-Barca-Villarreal LaLiga match in Miami moves closer after RFEF approval

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - LaLiga - FC Barcelona v Villarreal - Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain - May 18, 2025 FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal in action with Villarreal's Sergi Cardona REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish football could finally cross the Atlantic after the Royal Spanish Football Federation approved a request for Barcelona and Villarreal to play their December LaLiga match in Miami – a move nearly a decade in the making.

The RFEF board gave the green light on Monday for the teams' matchday 17 game to be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on December 20 in the first step towards the competition playing an official match abroad for the first time in its history.