EL- Classsico to played out Spain for the first time since 1982

The new La Liga season is still weeks away, but try telling Miami that Saturday night’s El Clasico at a sold-out Hard Rock Stadium is meaningless.

For the first time in over 35 years, Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet on foreign soil. It’s also the first encounter between the two sides in the United States.

Back in 1982, the match staged post-season in Venezuela, coming just before that year’s World Cup, was so nondescript it wasn’t even shown on television in Europe.

Fast forward to 2017, however, and this encounter has morphed into a huge global event which has gripped a soccer-mad city and ensured the now annual International Champions Cup exhibition tournament will remain a permanent fixture on the sporting calendar for years to come.

TV network ESPN have transplanted a crew of 25 reporters and presenters to South Florida to help produce wall-to-wall coverage.

Their daily Sports Center news show will be on-site in Miami and, at a time of the year where the NFL, NBA and NHL are in hibernation, the timing couldn’t have been better.

The game has long since sold out — tickets on the black market are now costing upwards of $900 (770 euros) each — although only 30% were bought by fans in the South Florida region, with the remainder being snapped up by the rest of the United States as well as people in 50 countries.

Football supporters from Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Honduras will all descend on the recently renovated home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins while the city itself is basking in the glow of a fun filled festival of soccer.