Report: La Liga working to stage December's Barca-Atletico game in Miami
La Liga is renewing its efforts to hold a league match in the United States.
Spain's top division is working to bring Barcelona's home game against Atletico Madrid, currently scheduled for the third weekend of December, to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, sources told Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens of ESPN.
Multiple issues still need to be resolved before that plan can come to fruition, Marsden and Llorens note.
La Liga has been trying for several years to stage a competitive league fixture in the United States, but that proposal has faced staunch opposition from FIFA, U.S. Soccer, Spanish fans, and the country's federation (RFEF).
La Liga president Javier Tebas, in partnership with U.S. events promoter Relevent Sports Group, tried unsuccessfully to bring a 2018 league match between Barcelona and Girona to Miami. A year later, a Madrid court blocked the league's attempt to stage a game between Atletico and Villarreal abroad.
But resistance to the idea isn't as strong as it once was, according to Marsden and Llorens, making this latest effort a real possibility, particularly after a key court ruling earlier this year.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in April to allow Relevent's antitrust lawsuit against FIFA and U.S. Soccer to go forward, challenging the former's longstanding policy that barred a country from hosting league matches involving teams from a different country.
FIFA's position on the current proposal remains unclear.
UEFA, which told ESPN it has "not been approached regarding this matter," would also have to sign off as the governing body of European soccer.
Uncertainty within the Spanish soccer federation is another potential hurdle. RFEF is currently without a president, but sources told Marsden and Llorens that an interim board would have the power to approve such a plan.
Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, is slated to host a regular-season game between the Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 22, making scheduling another issue to be considered.
The stadium, which seats over 65,000, hosted the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia earlier this year.
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