UEFA makes the "regrettable decision" to host LaLiga and Serie A games in Miami and Australia
"This decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent", explains Ceferin.
The LaLiga match between Villarreal and Barcelona and the Serie A duel between AC Milan and Como will be played abroad: the Spanish match will be played in Miami on December 20, and the Italian one in Perth, Australia, in February 2026. The ideas of taking those games abroad, submitted by their respective league owners to increase awareness of those clubs abroad, were met with widespread rejection from the club fans (particularly those from Villarreal and Milan, whose fans will miss one home match this season).
The idea was also rejected by UEFA, but nonetheless the European governing body has approved that those league games will be played thousands of kilometres from their countries because of their own faulty rulebook. "Given that the relevant FIFA regulatory framework - currently under review - is not clear and detailed enough, the UEFA Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve, on an exceptional basis, the two requests referred to it", UEFA said in the coldest statement ever.
UEFA said that they launched their own consultation with stakeholders and confirmed "the widespread lack of support that had already been raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions around the concept of domestic league matches being relocated abroad", and will take matters to prevent this from happening again, urging national football associations to engage with UEFA before submitting any future requests.
UEFA president laments the "regrettable" decision
The Bundesliga CEO, for example, said last August that a request like that would be unthinkable in Germany. "It doesn't fit into our football culture and will never be our expansion goal."
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin insisted today that "league matches should be played on home soil; anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions".
"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", added Ceferin.
Do you like the idea of taking domestic league games to Miami or Australia? Do you think it could (as the Spanish and Italian football associations do) increase the value of the football competition worldwide?
