Posted on 7th October 2025
UEFA has “reluctantly” given the green light for competitive European fixtures to be played overseas for the first time.
Yesterday European football’s governing body approved requests from La Liga and Serie A to move fixtures to Miami in the United States and Perth in Australia respectively.
La Liga had requested to move Barcelona’s trip to Villarreal across the Atlantic in December, leaving supporters, players and the clubs just two months to prepare for a dramatic shift in their matchgoing calendars.
Similarly, Serie A had asked to move AC Milan’s game against Como to Australia in February.
UEFA says it remains opposed to competitive fixtures being played overseas but could not block the request due to “regulatory gaps at global level”.
Announcing the decision, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said: “League matches should be played on home soil; anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions.
“Our consultation confirmed the breadth of these concerns. I would like to thank the 55 national associations for their constructive and responsible engagement on such a sensitive issue.
“While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent. Our commitment is clear: to protect the integrity of national leagues and ensure that football remains anchored in its home environment.”
Supporter response
The umbrella organisation that represents supporters at continental level, Football Supporters Europe, said: “We regret the decision by UEFA to “reluctantly” allow the requests from La Liga and Serie A to move the matches between Villarreal and FC Barcelona to Miami and between AC Milan and Como to Perth.
“We urge La Liga and Serie A to act for the greater good of football and withdraw their plans rather than push ahead in the face of overwhelming opposition from the rest of the football family and the European institutions.
“We call on FIFA to uphold and reinforce their current regulations and reject the applications to relocate these domestic fixtures abroad. There is still time to do right by clubs, players, officials, supporters, and communities.”
The Spanish supporters’ association FASFE is now urging the Spanish FA and La Liga to listen to supporters and call off the move to Florida.
“We call on both organisations to undertake a process of consultation with all groups involved in Spanish football, including the fans, in order to make decisions on this and other issues in an inclusive and democratic way,” FASFE said.
FASFE said it remains strongly opposed to the move and may still pursue legal action in the Spanish courts.
What does the FSA think?
We stand by what we’ve said previously on competitive overseas fixtures – this is an insult to matchgoing supporters of the teams involved and erodes sporting integrity in the division.
The FSA gives our full backing to supporters in Spain and Italy in resisting this outrageous attack on European football’s traditions.
Supporters are right to be concerned about the precedent this could set and we have made our views known to the Premier League whose chief executive Richard Masters has said that fixtures abroad are not on the table.
