UEFA delays decision on allowing Barcelona to play in Miami and AC Milan in Australia

By Canadian Press on September 11, 2025.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A tradition-busting plan to play domestic league games for Barcelona in the United States and AC Milan in Australia failed to make key progress on Thursday.

The UEFA executive committee said it needed more time to weigh proposals by the Spanish and Italian leagues, and wanted more talks with fans.

Spain’s La Liga wants to stage Villarreal’s “home” game against Barcelona in Miami on Dec. 20 and Serie A wants to move the AC Milan-Como game in February to Perth, Australia.

The plans have been fiercely opposed by more than 500 fan groups in the Football Supporters Europe network that is officially recognized by UEFA. Fans object to clubs being taken out of their home community and upsetting the balance of sporting integrity in leagues.

In Brussels, the European Commission’s top official for sports, Glenn Micallef, has called the proposed game in Miami a betrayal.

There are no similar proposals from the leagues in England and Germany which would face a stronger backlash by fans than in Spain or Italy.

La Liga and Serie A have been financially outmuscled by the English Premier League’s global popularity and see a chance to build the fan base and brand for clubs and leagues, following the example of U.S. professional sports leagues.

La Liga and its commercial partner Relevent, a U.S. marketing agency co-founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, first tried in 2018 to put a Barcelona game in the city but were blocked by a FIFA veto.

Fresh plans for so-called “out of territory” games were inevitable last year when FIFA withdrew from a court case in New York filed by Relevent.

Relevent is now a major commercial partner for UEFA with rights awarded this year to sell six seasons’ worth of broadcast and sponsor deals from 2027 for the Champions League and other European club competitions.

FIFA has created a working group to review its rules on domestic games abroad, and its 37-member ruling council with eight from UEFA is due to meet next month.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press

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