Miami’s CFP stadium conflict has concluded. Mario Cristobal’s Miami was on notice after LALIGA announced a soccer game between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF on December 20 at the Hard Rock Stadium. The decision to hold an official match outside the borders strengthens clubs’ international presence and the visibility of Spanish soccer in the United States. But this automatically resulted in a scheduling conflict.

According to reports, Relevent informed La Liga about the need to postpone the planned match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona in Miami, scheduled on December 20. “Given the current uncertainty in Spain, there is insufficient time to properly execute an event of this scale. It would also be irresponsible to begin selling tickets without a confirmed match in place.” 

The scheduling issue resulted in a potential stadium conflict if the Miami Hurricanes were to play in the first-round playoff. Mario Cristobal’s Miami and the Spanish football council have dealt with this for the past few days. However, the latest report came in favor of the home team.

The Spanish league has decisively announced the cancellation of the historic match. The league “deeply regrets that this project, which represented a historic and unparalleled opportunity for the international expansion of Spanish soccer, will not be able to move forward.” As they canceled the soccer game, Mario Cristobal and the company could now enjoy the home game privilege if they were set to host the first round of the college football playoff at Hard Rock Stadium.

Since they announced a blockbuster overseas venue, Spanish players have been unhappy and protested this weekend by standing still for the first 15 seconds of matches. Supporters held banners reading “Our League, Our Home.” Although they didn’t broadcast the protests, the situation has created “uncertainty” in Spain for the past few weeks.

The La Liga committee originally planned this move to expose Spanish clubs to North American venues. They selected Miami in particular because South Florida has many Spanish-speaking people. This will also give them a preview of the 2026 World Cup, which is hosted jointly by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada between June 11 and July 19, across 16 cities.

With the protest among Spanish FC, it is unknown whether La Liga prefers to host outside the border. Although this is disheartening for La Liga, it’s a big win for Mario Cristobal’s Miami.

Big win for Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes started the season with an undefeated streak and a 5-0 record and received a No. 2 ranking. However, their recent loss to Louisville brought them to No. 9. They have high chances of finishing the regular season between 5 and 8. According to the 12-team playoff rules, if a program gets ranked between 5 and 8, it has the chance to host a first-round game at its home venue against a team ranked between 9 and 12. CFP is scheduled to host its first-round games on December 19 and December 20.

Now, if Miami has to request a postponement to another date, this will affect the entire playoff schedule and the bowl games. At this stage, the scheduled soccer game being postponed to another date or venue gives them a home advantage. This could potentially collide with the La Liga game that was planned earlier.

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have a significant chance of entering the playoffs; they must climb the rankings to secure their spot. Remember what happened last season? Miami started its 2024 season with a 9-0 winning streak, but losing two games in the latter part of the season significantly impacted the rankings. They finished the season 10-2 and failed to enter the Top 12 rankings, losing their playoff chances in the last two weeks.

With this volatility in college football rankings, Miami’s only hope of securing the playoffs is to win every opponent on the regular season schedule.