Uefa ‘reluctantly’ approves La Liga & Serie A games to be played abroad

Uefa says it consulted stakeholders and found “widespread lack of support” for league matches to be played abroad, echoing concerns raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions.

But it said world governing body Fifa’s regulatory framework is “not clear and detailed enough” for it to block the plans.

Fifa set up a working group last year to look at the impact of playing competitive domestic matches overseas.

Last year, La Liga said it wanted to hold Barcelona v Atletico Madrid in Miami before dropping the idea because of time constraints.

In 2019, Barcelona also planned to stage a league match against Girona in Miami, but the idea was scrapped after opposition from Spain’s football association and its players’ union.

Other one-off matches, such as the Italian Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, have been held abroad in recent years.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in August there are no plans to play an English top-flight match abroad.

The idea of the Premier League playing an extra round – the so-called ’39th game’ – outside England was raised in 2008 but those plans were shelved after criticism from fans and the media.