MADRID (AP) — Villarreal is promising travel and tickets for free for season-ticket holders if its Spanish league match against Barcelona is played in Miami in December.
The club said Tuesday that those who don't want to go, or can't go, will get a 20% discount on their season tickets.
The Spanish soccer federation on Monday approved a request for the match to be played in the United States on Dec. 20. UEFA and FIFA now have to approve the request before it can be made official.
“We would be the first (Spanish) team to play a league match abroad,” Villarreal president Fernando Roig told a news conference. "It would greatly help us expand our brand in a key market like the United States.”
Staging a match abroad has long been part of the league’s goal to promote soccer and its brand in other countries.
It first tried to stage a match in the U.S. in 2018, with a game between Barcelona and Girona, but the idea was dismissed after criticism from players, fans and clubs. Subsequent attempts to play there also failed.
The league offered compensation packages for Girona fans when it tried to take its home match against Barcelona to the U.S. in 2018.
It wasn't clear whether it would be Villarreal or the league paying for the travel and the tickets for the club's fans this time.
The attempts to play in the U.S. are part of the league's long-term partnership with sports and entertainment group Relevent Sports, which is part of Stephen Ross’ portfolio of companies including Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Dolphins, the Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix and the Miami Open tennis tournament.
The 17th-round match in La Liga would be played at the Hard Rock Stadium.
FIFA moved last year toward ending decades of soccer tradition by ordering a review of its policy that blocks domestic league games being played in other countries.
Some fan groups in Spain and the country's players association on Monday expressed their disapproval of the plan to move the match thousands of kilometers away.
It has become routine, though, for U.S. pro sports leagues to stage games in Europe, Asia and South America that help build their brands and fan bases.
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