Credit: La Liga
The football season is back as the major leagues are set to kick off from next week. The La Liga is also ready to kickstart with the opening fixture of Girona against Rayo Vallecano on August 15. According to the recent reports, the matchday 17 fixture between Villarreal against FC Barcelona could become the first European league match to be played in a different country. Villarreal had requested the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) for their fixture against Barcelona in December to played at the Hard Rock stadium in Miami.
According to the latest developments, the Spanish FA has approved the request from Villarreal, and they are currently escalating the plan to UEFA and FIFA for their consideration. The RFEF released a statement which said, "The Royal Spanish Football Federation will submit the request to Uefa to begin the process for subsequent authorisation by FIFA for the match to be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on 20 December 2025." The FIFA rules state that the domestic matches cannot be played outside. However, the organisation had formed a working group to look into this matter.
AC Milan among teams looking to reschedule their fixture abroad: Reports
Another team hoping for their match to be rescheduled abroad is AC Milan. The Italian giants want their match against FC Como, which is scheduled to be played in February, to happen in Perth, Australia. The San Siro is set to host the Winter Olympics during that period, which is why Milan want their fixture against Como to be played abroad.
However, their request is yet to be approved by FIFA, UEFA, Football Australia, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). If the matches of these teams are fixed to be played abroad, this will set a new benchmark in footballing history. The only matches which have been played abroad till now are the one-off matches like the Spanish Super Cup and the Italian Super Cup. The decision is all set to be taken by the respective boards.
