The Club World Cup served as proof of concept for regular season European football to be played in America
Javier Tebas insisted it was going to happen. The La Liga president has a tendency of doing these things. He's a big manifestation guy. Say something loud enough, and with enough authority, and it will come true. His latest speaking of something into existence?
There will be a competitive game of top flight Spanish soccer in the United States. And it would be held in Miami.
"We have to find a good date in the calendar, but we are going to try to do it in Miami, where we tried previously. We are not going to do a whole gameweek. It will be one game (per season), and that’s it," he told in August 2024.
The comments caused a stir. European soccer has long had a fascination with playing its games abroad, such are the commercial revenue possibilities. Preseason friendlies in the U.S. are customary at this point – Bournemouth-Everton was played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last week as part of the Premier League Summer Series.
But competitive soccer, with points on the line, was always something of a pipe dream. Still, there Tebas was, insisting that it could happen – and with a venue already determined.
Reports at the time suggested the fixture would be held that December, near Christmas. And then the conversation simply faded. It became clear that the logistics were too hasty, even if Tebas is a very good politician. But the fact that his statement picked up any steam, and was even considered, suggested that the concept – resisted so virulently by numerous parties for so long – is coming closer to fruition.
Legal barriers that once prevented such game are collapsing. The Club World Cup's success – especially in the games that mattered among big European clubs – will offer a boost. It seems inevitable at this point: there will be a competitive football match held in the United States. Soon. It will send American fans into a frenzy, and infuriate core supporters to no end.
And for good or ill, there's no way to stop it.
GettyA moneymaking exercise for clubs
Let's make this clear. Playing a competitive game in the United States would be absolutely wonderful for a club's balance sheet. Yes, they care about their fans in their home countries. They certainly care about their global fans, too. But strip away the good vibes, the marketing campaigns, the look-at-us social media content and this ultimately about money.
La Liga, in particular, is keen. And that would make sense. Tebas and the league have had few qualms expressing their envy – and often outright disdain – over the way that Premier League clubs are able to make money. And they have a point. England's top flight is the richest in the world by some distance, a combination of prize money, broadcast rights, and sponsorships allowing even mid-table clubs to compete with Champions League sides in Spain in terms of revenue and valuations.
Part of the reason is that the Premier League distributes its wealth more effectively than Spain, with a smaller gap between the top clubs and relegation-threatened sides in terms of base pay. Every spot in the Premier League is worth around $4 million, with global broadcasting rights helping keep even the struggling teams afloat – or even thriving. Spain has less lucrative deals, and therefore no such fall-back. Germany's broadcast rights situation is even worse.
Piece it all together, and the Premier League nearly generates more revenue than La Liga and Bundesliga combined. Germany tends to be content with its relative financial standing. The Bundesliga relies heavily on fan ownership and the "50+1" rule gives supporters relative control of wealth.
La Liga has no such protections and is therefore constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap. The league has tried to host regular season games in the United States on multiple occassions, and came close in both 2018 and 2019. A brief flirtation with the Middle East followed – the Spanish Super Cup is now routinely held in either Qatar or Saudi Arabia – but America has always been the holy grail.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAmerican fans and their willingness to pay
There is ample evidence that the revenue opportunities are significant. La Liga has an office in New York, and has made a show, both in terms of public events and deals with American media, that it has wholesale intent of being a success in the U.S.. The proof is in the numbers. American football stadiums in major metropolitan areas, in particular, have drawn massive crowds for preseason friendlies.
A Clasico held at MetLife Stadium in July 2024 was delayed for two hours due to thunderstorms, but nearly 90,000 fans stayed throughout to watch what was an admittedly tepid game that featured academy kids plus 15 mediocre minutes from a nowhere-near-fit Vinicius Jr. The revenue from the game was reportedly worth $25M – and that was a preseason friendly with nothing on the line.
Part of the reason, of course, is scarcity. It is possible, contrary to the European belief, for Americans to truly love soccer. And they have shown, repeatedly, that they are willing to pay big money to see it. Europeans often laugh at the American willingness to spend hundreds on friendlies in hot stadiums in the middle of July, but it is, quite literally, the only outlet for them to see their team live. What you have, then, is American capitalism in real time, supply and demand – scarcity of a product jacking up the prices for its acquisition.
Getty Images SportThe Club World Cup and its (relative) success
The Club World Cup, held in the heat of June in the U.S., proved that there is an appetite for a fixture – even for those who aren't fans of the clubs involved – assuming the team and players are high-caliber. There were plenty of qualms about fan attendance during the group stage. But in reality, Mamelodi Sundowns vs Ulsan HD – held in Orlando on a searing hot summer's day with weather delays pushing kickoff – was never going to draw a massive crowd. That a few thousand showed up at all was fairly impressive.
And a number of fixtures followed a similar theme. Clubs with smaller followings in the U.S. drew fewer fans – which actually follows logic. And although South American, African and Middle Eastern supporters came out in droves, there were still plenty of empty seats in the early matches. The first 32-team edition of the Club World Cup finished with an average attendance 39,557 over 63 matches.
Once the games started to count, attendance soared. The quarterfinals and semifinals saw crowds spike, with average attendance of 63,000 and 75,000, respectively, and then more than 81,000 showed up for the final between PSG and Chelsea. Although there was widespread skepticism about the validity of the tournament – and what being a world champion in soccer actually means – fan appetite for a competitive fixture couldn't really be questioned.
It helped, of course, that the clubs took it seriously. Chelsea and PSG, in particular, delivered a mightily entertaining final, a fine duel befitting of any big occasion, with more anticipation and tactical preparation than an average Premier League game. Point is, this thing might not have mattered, but the big clubs played, and plenty of people paid to watch.
Ironically, FIFA president and Club World Cup father figure Gianni Infantino has historically opposed domestic games in the United States, claiming in 2018 that "I think I would prefer to see a great MLS game in the U.S. rather than La Liga being in the U.S. In football, the general principle is that you play a 'home' match at 'home', and not in a foreign country."
He may have inadvertently worked against his own best interests here.
AFPLegal problems no longer present
All of this operated in the realm of the hypothetical for years. FIFA's stance had always been that regular season club games had to be held in their home country. And there was never a serious challenge to that notion. And then, in 2019, it became a legal matter.
Relevant Sports, a match promoter that had helped organize preseason friendlies for La Liga teams, sued both FIFA and the United States Soccer Federation, claiming that the two bodies had violated antitrust laws by conspiring to bar domestic leagues from playing games abroad.
What followed was a complicated legal case, with suits being dismissed and then appealed, back and forth. But in April 2025, there was a significant breakthrough. Relevent Sports settled its antitrust lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer, a development that came a year after Relevent and FIFA reached their own settlement to drop FIFA as a co-defendant.
The terms of that settlement were not disclosed, but FIFA said it would form a working group to analyze rules about how and where domestic fixtures could be played.
“We appreciate U.S. Soccer’s collaboration in reaching this settlement,” Relevent CEO Danny Sillman said in April. “Ultimately, we all share the same goal: growing the sport throughout America. We’re excited to continue supporting clubs from Europe and around the world to expand the sport’s reach and impact across the U.S.”
