Villarreal president Fernando Roig has claimed supporters will be able to fly to Miami for free or have a 20 per cent discount on their season-ticket if the proposed La Liga game against Barcelona in the United States gets the go ahead.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved La Liga’s request for Villarreal’s home game against Barca in December to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida and will submit a request to UEFA to initiate the procedures for FIFA to grant authorisation for the fixture change.
The game is currently scheduled to be played on the weekend of December 20-21 at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica home in eastern Spain.
It would be the first time a European top-flight league fixture has taken place in the U.S, although the Spanish Super Cup has been held in Saudi Arabia in the four of the last five seasons.
The controversial proposal has sparked fury and raised questions about the league’s integrity, with the Spanish football supporters’ association, FASFE, joining with Villarreal and Barca fan groups to express their “absolute, total and firm opposition” to the plans.
In a joint statement, they urged the RFEF and the national sports council to “stop this madness” and warned that they would “take appropriate legal action” if the Miami game goes ahead.
Villarreal finished fifth in La Liga last season, qualifying for the Champions League (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)
Roig – speaking at a press conference ahead of Villarreal’s opening La Liga game at home to Oviedo on Friday – described the proposal as a “great opportunity” and potential “milestone”, and claimed supporters’ travel would be subsidised.
“Coming to the United States is a great opportunity,” he said. “There has been the Club World Cup and the World Cup will be held (there) next year.
“If it happens, we will be the first European team to play a first division match there. It is a great milestone. Our fans will have some discomfort. But we will make up for it. Those who want to go to Miami will fly free. And those who can’t or don’t want to, they will have a 20 per cent discount on their season ticket.
“We have to promote Spanish football. And it is very important to take advantage of this opportunity. We have 12 football schools in the United States. We want to create some more in this country. We have been pioneers and we want to continue to be pioneers in international expansion. It is also an important step for our sponsors.”
Asked by The Athletic, senior sources at Villarreal did not provide further details of how they might pay for fans’ trips.
Roig believes the commercial benefits for the club will be enormous, while dismissing the impact of the loss of home advantage for one game of the coming campaign.
“There is still some paperwork to do,” he added. “It is in the hands of UEFA. But in principle everything suggests that it will be held there.
“The whole economic issue will be dedicated to compensate the fans. What the club gains here is the expansion of the brand, of the sponsors and to look to the future of opening up to the market. The money, as such, will be dedicated to the fans.”
Asked if playing one game overseas would compromise the league, he replied: “At our ground, we have not beaten Barcelona and at their ground we have beaten them several times in recent years. So maybe we have a better chance. There, we have beaten them this year, without going any further.
“It’s a great expansion for Villarreal and for La Liga in general,” he added. “There will be more support there for Barca, I have no doubt. But it is very important for us to expand the brand and the ceramics sector.
“There are many teams agreeing to expand our football to other countries. We want to move to get more revenue and get closer to other leagues, like the English league.”
Why is La Liga so keen to take a match abroad?
Analysis by Spanish football correspondent Dermot Corrigan
Playing a Primera Division game overseas has long been part of La Liga president Tebas’ vision of expanding his association’s reach and power.
Tebas’ plans were thwarted in 2018 and 2019 by opposition from then federation president Luis Rubiales and current Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Rubiales then brought the Spanish Supercopa to Saudi Arabia, in a deal still under investigation by anti-corruption authorities in Spain. Perez has also pushed the European Super League project.
Playing a match abroad would help La Liga to counteract the big commercial advantage the Premier League has in the U.S. and other markets outside Europe. La Liga has an office in New York, and also regularly organises friendly games for its teams in other continents during the off-season.
Tebas has regularly said — including in two different interviews with The Athletic — that once it is possible for La Liga to play games overseas, it will.
Since Rubiales fell into disgrace and departure, the relationship between the RFEF and La Liga has improved markedly.
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(Top photo: Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
