La Liga president Javier Tebas has made no secret of the fact he wants the league to hold a game in the United States of America in the near future – potentially as soon as this coming December.
Tebas told The Athletic: “It does not depend only on us, but if we are able to do it, we will. The idea is to do it as soon as possible,”
“I cannot put a timeframe, but we are already working on it. The teams that take part will do so voluntarily. I will not decide it for them. We have to find a good date in the calendar, but we are going to try to do it in Miami, where we tried previously. We are not going to do a whole gameweek. It will be one game (per season), and that’s it.”
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December date eyed for La Liga’s first fixture abroad
La Liga have attempted to play in the United States before, but those plans fell apart after FIFA and US soccer authorities stepped in to wag a finger and go tut-tut at the plans.
There have been suggestions that FIFA might be softening in their position, though, and La Liga intend to test the waters, with Relevo reporting that the clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid slated for the weekend before Christmas is the most likely candidate as it stands.
Both clubs are said to be keen on the idea – in fact, Atletico COO Oscar Mayo Pardo went on record to say: “We would love to be one of the first two clubs in the history of European leagues to play (competitively) in the U.S.. La Liga knows we are totally available for that and, when it will be possible, it will be a pleasure for us.”
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Miami has been proposed as the venue for the potential move abroad (Image credit: Getty Images)
The plan is seen as a way for La Liga to try and gain back ground in the face of the Premier League’s financial dominance, by garnering more interest and popularity in the popular North American broadcast market.
Such proposals have proven unpopular whenever they have been floated for the Premier League.
The idea of a ’39th game’ – an additional date in the calendar, played abroad with actual points on the line – was first floated in 2008 but shot down, and rears its head again every few years.
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