Spain’s league: Will soccer matches finally be held in the United States?

The ambition of Javier Tebas, president of the Spanish League, to play a game of the season in the United States, has led to opposition from several sectors

Last August, La Liga, led by its President Javier Tebas, informed the agency's decision to play a game of the regular season in the United States, specifically in the city of Miami. The meeting would be between Girona vs FC Barcelona, as part of a marketing and dissemination strategy in the plans to internationalize this sport through the Spanish agency in the North American market, as reported by the leader in his interview with Reuters.

Leer en español: Liga de España: ¿Al fin se realizarán partidos en Estados Unidos?

"Playing in the United States is very important for our strategy, we are not going to relent in our right", said the President of La Liga recently in the aforementioned digital media.

The League signed an agreement with the American company Relevent, the same company organizing the Tournament International Champion Cup, as reported by the digital newspaper Cambio16.com, where the intention of this alliance is to promote the La Liga brand in the United States, in a marketing plan, beyond economic consideration, as Thebes stated about this approach with North America. The agreement includes: "activities such as nursery schools, training of grassroots coaches, marketing agreements, brand activations with consumers and exhibition matches", according to the aforementioned newspaper.

What Thebes and his entire team did not count on when they designed this expansion plan, culminating in the signing of the aforementioned Commercial Agreement with the Relevent company, was with the opposition found for the realization of this whole event, which continues in a large question mark.

You may also be interested in: Madrid vs New York: Where will the Champions final be played?

Opponents to move the meeting on American soil

Everything indicates that Javier Tebas, in his ambitious ambition of expansion, without considering the Spanish fans, players and clubs, decided on an action without caring about the different actors, as the President of the Association of Spanish Footballers, David Aganzo, pointed out to the newspaper El Español.

In Latinamerican Post we will mention some of the Spanish soccer players who are against the regular games of La Liga abroad.

Association of Spanish Footballers: Most of the captains belonging to the teams of the League are against important points:

• The new schedules include days on Fridays and end on Mondays, added to the new time of the Spanish League at 10:15 p.m., where a match can end after midnight.
• The game on American soil, abroad and beyond the transfer, are the schedules that would be handled, as indicated by the digital sports newspaper 90min, where the players do not see that they have not been informed of the unilateral agreement.

Royal Spanish Football Federation: The highest governing body of Spanish football in the hands of its president, Luis Rubiales, have shown their opposition to acts committed by La Liga as an organization of Spanish professional football.

The newspaper El Imparcial describes the various points against, as was the unilateral way in which negotiation was handled and the signing of the agreement, without previously consulting the teams and players. The document is not in accordance with the guidelines established by UEFA or FIFA for the development of games outside national borders, including the FIFA official games calendar.

Finally, the newspaper said, for the development of games outside of Spain, it must have the approval of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, which does not own it and is the stumbling block for the continuation of actions by Thebes. It should be noted that both Girona and Barça gave their approval to make the game.

FIFA: The portal Miami Diario, reported that it does not see with good eyes the accomplishment of this encounter in the United States, expressing that the regular games must be done in the national ground and not abroad. Despite not having the last word in this act, as reported by the newspaper El Tiempo Latino, does not consider that should happen under the table this fact.

Subscribers (fans): Spanish fans have not been left behind in their rejection of the regular games of La Liga in the United States, as described by the 20minutos digital newspaper. Where they show how social networks have been the main instrument of expression of rejection, some arguing the high cost of tickets to appreciate the show, instead of seeing a regular meeting in cities with totally different schedules. A phrase summarizes what is expressed in social networks: "a team without a hobby is like a person without a heart," the newspaper said. The digital portal of the RTVE, informs that this can affect up to the rights of the subscribers

Although the leader of La Liga remains confident that this game can be held on January 26 in the city of Miami the possibilities are different. The opposing factors, added to the legal arguments that show the Agreement as invalid, will be justifications of great weight. Even so, the president will not give his arm to twist by not allowing the realization and will do everything possible to expand the brand of La Liga.

LatinAmerican Post | Gabriel Moros

Translated from: 'Liga de España: ¿Al fin se realizarán partidos en Estados Unidos?'

Listen this article