The UEFA has approved plans of the Ligen from Spain and Italy to play regular league games abroad. However, this only reluctantly does this, as the UEFA announced.
The Spanish league game between FC Villarreal and FC Barcelona is scheduled for December 20, 2025 in Miami be held in the USA. Series A wants to follow the game between AC Milan and Como on February 6, 2026 Perth lay in Australia. The grant to an international audience applies in the footballBusiness For longer than a key to new income. The project had criticism from European politics and the European fan alliance Football Supporters Europe (FSE).
The UEFA announced that the project only “Reluctantly” to have agreed and that they reaffirm their rejection. All 55 national associations like the DFB would have undertaken “Working with the UEFA before submitting future inquiries”. In the current two cases, however, the UEFA is apparently afraid of legal risks. You have the applications from Spain and Italy “Exceptionally in the face of regulatory gaps on a global level” approved, it said in a message. The “Regulatory gaps” So lie at the FIFA’s point of view.
FIFA promised new regulation in 2024
FIFA actually has a superordinate regulations for the establishment of such games. The marketing agency relevant wanted to bring a game of the Spanish league to Miami in 2019, but this was blocked by the associations. Relevant complained against FIFA.
But the dispute was enclosed because the FIFA promised an examination of the rules and used a working group. This should also be involved “Private companies involved in the organization of international games or competitions”. So organizations like relevant. Results of the working group or new regulations have not yet been published by FIFA – that is the “Regulatory gap”of which the UEFA speaks.
The FIFA working group should be in its recommendations according to FIFA “Criteria for the approval of such games or competitions” develop. “All suggestions must be based on the principles of transparency, objectivity, prohibition of discrimination and proportionality”it said from FIFA, what a reference to the ECJ judgment Super League is. This judgment set borders to the associations in regulating clubs and leagues. DFB Managing Director Andreas Rettig spoke in conversation with the sports show of a “muscle game between UEFA and FIFA”, which deals with sovereignty in the calendar.
Ceferin: “This is not a precedent”
The decision to approve the games of La Liga and Serie A abroad should not be regarded as a precedent, said Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin in a message. “Our clear confession is to protect the integrity of the national leagues and ensure that football remains anchored in his home environment.”
Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin
The UEFA announced that it would “The ongoing work of FIFA actively supported to ensure that future rules maintain the integrity of national competitions and the close bond between clubs, their fans and the local communities”. The two leagues from Spain and Italy have not yet commented.
Fan alliance continues to demand an end to the plans
“The FIFA is now a duty to close this gap in regulations”said the fan alliance Football Supporters Europe. The alliance asked La Liga and Serie A to withdraw their plans.
“With the enforcement of these games, La Liga and Serie A risk to undermine their own history and long -term success and to add sustainable damage to football in Europe – and beyond -“so FSE.
In Villarreal at home: fans of FC Villarreal
Topic reaches European politics
The topic has long since achieved a political dimension. EU sports commissioner Glenn MiCallef (Social Democrats/Malta) announced after the UEFA’s decision, the decision of the UEFA evidence: “The export of league games abroad is not the future. It is betrayal. The fans have the right to see their clubs at home games.” The two leagues still had time “Listen to your fans and rethink these plans. It is not too late to do the right thing: to leave the game where it really belongs”.
The European Parliament will vote on a resolution on Tuesday at its meeting in Strasbourg, which deals with the role of EU policy in the design of the so-called European sports model. The debate took place on Monday evening.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg
The EU attributes several key features to the European Sports Model. This includes, for example, the pyramidal structure and openness of the competitions, which became decisive in the course of the Super League debate 2021. But the importance of sport is also mentioned “For national identity”. In the resolution, which is to be voted in the parliament, the associations are expressly asked to “To prevent domestic competitions from taking place abroad”. A resolution is not a regulation and not a law – to face the will of the European Parliament, it would be a difficult punctuation for UEFA.
Because the European institutions were firmly alongside the UEFA when it came to preventing the Super League. Again and again the UEFA referred to the European sports model when securing its position against the Super League, which, according to the will of the EU Parliament, could soon be expressly included: national competitions should be played in their countries and nowhere else.
Watzke excluded German games abroad
DFL Presidium spokesman Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is also Vice President at the DFB and the UEFA, recently excluded the DFL abroad under his responsibility.
Upon request, the DFL confirmed that this attitude also applies to the Supercup, although the game regulations of the DFL generally and expressly allow the Supercup to be relocated abroad.