UEFA is considering proposals to host La Liga and Serie A matches in Miami and Perth, respectively. This move signifies football’s shift towards a globalized entertainment product, potentially detaching clubs from their local communities and traditions. The decision faces opposition, but reflects the increasing influence of international markets and commercial interests in football.
The familiar caramel-colored tiles might be gone, the stadium's name changed, and bright yellow LED screens might dominate the facade, but for the locals of Villarreal, the essence remains. Every other weekend, they gather, buy horchata from the stalls, and meet friends in the same old bars adorned with faded photos. Despite the changes, this is still their town, their team, their tradition. When Villarreal plays, there's nowhere else they'd rather be.
However, the upcoming home game against Barcelona, slated for the week before Christmas, might see the Estadio de la Cerámica sitting empty. For the small industrial town of 50,000, it will be just another night. Instead of reverberating in Castellón, the classic club anthems will echo over 4,000 miles away in the Miami suburbs. Football's increasingly globalized future is quickly becoming its present.
This Thursday, the executive committee of UEFA convenes in Tirana to deliberate on requests from La Liga and Serie A to stage competitive matches abroad. La Liga seeks to move Villarreal v Barcelona to Miami, while Serie A proposes Milan v Como in Perth. Although administrative hurdles remain with FIFA, US Soccer, the Asian Football Confederation, and Football Australia, this UEFA meeting is a critical juncture. Once the precedent is set that domestic league fixtures can be played abroad, reversing course becomes nearly impossible.
Moving La Liga matches overseas has long been a priority for its president, Javier Tebas, who aims to challenge the Premier League's cultural and commercial dominance. Past attempts to move Girona v Barcelona in 2018 and Atlético Madrid v Villarreal in 2019 were blocked by FIFA and the Spanish federation. But following a legal settlement with Relevent Sports, the US promoter behind those plans, FIFA's stance appears to have softened. UEFA has also signed a six-year deal with Relevent for global commercial rights, aligning the incentives further.
There's a certain irony in Villarreal potentially being the guinea pig for this experiment. Few clubs embody the values that La Liga and Relevent seem intent on eroding: a locally owned team deeply rooted in its community. Vila Real's population barely exceeds the 23,000 capacity of its stadium, yet the club has achieved two Champions League semi-finals and a Europa League title.
Club president Fernando Roig has offered to fly season-ticket holders to Miami for free, a gesture that might entice some fans with the prospect of a novel holiday. However, this is just the initial charm offensive. Serie A speaks of the "small sacrifice" that Milan and Como fans must make in exchange for increased global visibility. But is that really why fans start supporting a football team?
In reality, the strategy is to appease local fans now, paving the way for their eventual displacement. The friendly match between Milan and Roma in Perth in May 2024 served as a test run: a sold-out crowd of 56,000, a pop-up Italian village, and enthusiastic press releases about economic impact. This is European football as a traveling circus, packaging the history and authenticity of the club game for a global audience. We will hear arguments about how foreign-based fans are equally deserving of top-class football, especially if they have more disposable income.
A responsible governing body would recognize these cross-border excursions as a threat to the global game's development. Imagine if the revenue generated by Milan v Como could instead bolster Perth's local A-League side, which has struggled in recent seasons. However, FIFA has largely abandoned this role, prioritizing lucrative events and aligning with powerful investors. The Club World Cup exemplifies this shift, transplanting local passion to lucrative neutral spaces, funded by entities like the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Might the Premier League follow suit? Richard Masters' response suggests the possibility remains open. He argued that the Premier League's previous attempts to grow internationally are no longer relevant because the league is so successful already. But the desire for constant growth never really dies.
Should the Premier League stage games abroad, the backlash would be significant. Protests, boycotts, and theatrically ripped-up season tickets would likely ensue. However, such moves wouldn't occur without genuine demand. An increasing number of club owners, particularly from the US, are drawn to the American model of franchise relocation, seeking audiences wherever they can be found, while lacking the US protections for fans and local communities.
For now, there's relatively little opposition in Spain or Italy. This may be because the culture of traveling support is less entrenched, and there's a consensus on the need to market the product more aggressively. Ultimately, the drive to move domestic games abroad is a symptom of a larger shift within football, a sport increasingly detached from its physical space, becoming a floating entertainment product in the cloud.
Executives now compare football's rivals not to other sports but to entertainment giants like Disney or Minecraft. Perhaps the idea of clubs being tied to a locality will eventually seem as antiquated as Deadpool and Wolverine having home and away fixtures. After all, a horchata stand can be set up anywhere. A tifo in Singapore, with the right lighting, can look identical to one at San Siro. This is the league of anyone, anytime, anywhere. And if you don't like it, someone else will happily take your place.