La Liga president Javier Tebas insists league matches will be played abroad with his aim for games to be staged in the United States from the 2025-26 season.
The possibility of playing domestic league fixtures abroad has increased after FIFA was dropped from a landmark lawsuit by the U.S. events promoter Relevent, who in 2018 were denied in their attempts to take a fixture between Girona and Barcelona in La Liga to Miami.
Relevent, founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, accused FIFA’s directive, issued in 2018, of guiding that domestic games should be played in their home territory as acting as a monopoly and preventing fair competition.
FIFA and Relevent settled on their case without prejudice earlier this month, meaning Relevent reserve the right to reopen their litigation should FIFA not come up with a satisfactory reconsideration of their position.
GO DEEPER
Why European football matches might finally be coming to the U.S.
“I think it could be in the 2025-26 season, but La Liga will play official matches abroad,” La Liga president Tebas told Spanish newspaper Expansion.
“An official match in the U.S. will strengthen our position in the North American market, which is the second market for La Liga after Spain.”
Tebas said other major leagues were also trying to move domestic fixtures abroad: “Other very competitive leagues are coming so we cannot always do the same thing, but we cannot allow them to overtake us.”
Tebas also added that La Liga had no plans to introduce goal-line technology following a ‘ghost goal’ from Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in Real Madrid’s victory in Sunday night’s El Clasico.
Yamal’s shot was adjudged not to have crossed the goal line, with VAR officials unable to conclusively determine that the ball had gone in from the replays available.
(Aldara Zarraoa/WireImage)
