LONDON (AP) — Spanish soccer league wants to revive plans Hold regular season games in the United States.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Thursday he was not giving up on taking Spain’s top-flight matches abroad after controversial plans to play them outside Miami were scrapped last year in the face of backlash from clubs, players and fans.
“I will try again. I don’t know when. We have to raise it at the right time,” Tebas told a news conference in London.
Barcelona and Villarreal were scheduled to play against each other. Spain would have become the first major European league to move its regular season games overseas if it were held Dec. 20 at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium. However, these plans were scrapped in October due to growing opposition, with some arguing that moving the games overseas would affect the fairness of the competition.
“I don’t think it will be damaging,” Tebas said on Thursday while attending the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit. “We’re talking about one game out of a 380-game season.”
Tebas is trying to emulate the NFL model that was followed last season. Matches held in London, Berlin, Dublin, Madrid and São Paulo. The NBA also plays games overseas.
He said European soccer’s big leagues benefit from fans around the world, with broadcast rights sold for billions of dollars around the world. Tebas said competing overseas, as has been the case in U.S. sports in recent years, is both a sign of respect and a promotional opportunity.
“We celebrate Halloween, which we didn’t celebrate 20 years ago. We have NFL games, we have NBA games,” Tebas said. “Fifty years from now, let’s see if the stadiums are empty and the NBA and NFL stadiums are full. Because instead of just bringing in one game, they’re all bringing in many games.”
“They’re not coming to Europe for vacation, they’re coming to get fans to get TV deals and kids to go to games. In other words, we opened the door to Europe. Instead, the United States opens the door for us to go, and we close the door here in Europe.”
In the league succeeded In October, they received approval from soccer organizations UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation to host matches overseas. However, the backlash included protests from players, and in late October match promoter Lilevent notified La Liga of the need to postpone, saying there was insufficient time to “properly organize an event of this scale”.
The Spanish league matches were previously scheduled to be held in the United States in 2019, but FIFA announced that its governing board had made the decision. adopted the policy It emphasized the “sporting principle that official league matches must be played within the territory of each member association.” Barcelona at the time rescinded the promise To play.
tebas and man city
Tebas also considered the pending outcome of charges against Manchester City for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations.
City were charged by the league with more than 100 violations in February 2023, but no verdict has been announced despite an independent panel hearing the matter from September to December 2024. The city has always denied the charges.
“When you find yourself in this type of situation, it creates uncertainty and negatively impacts the image of the institution,” Tebas said.
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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