An ambitious plan to host a regular season La Liga match in the United States has fallen apart, as Barcelona has backed out of the proposal to play their match vs. Girona in Miami next month.
The decision came on Monday following a meeting of the club’s board of directors, who decided that while they were still interested in the general idea of playing a match outside of Spain, they didn’t want to do so until all interested parties were in agreement with the plan.
Governing Bodies Line Up Against Proposal
That certainly isn’t the case for the Jan. 26 match, which was scheduled to be played at Hard Rock Stadium. With the Spanish football federation opposing the plan, La Liga took legal action against the federation in an attempt to get approval to play in Miami. ESPN cited sources that said the Spanish federation had been using delaying tactics to essentially make it logistically impossible to play the match in America next month.
The Spanish association wasn’t the only entity opposed to the proposal. UEFA and FIFA were both against the idea, as was Spain’s players’ union.
“The FC Barcelona Board of Directors have agreed to withdraw their willingness to play against Girona in Miami after seeing the lack of consensus surrounding the proposal,†read a statement released by the club. “Barcelona were and are willing to go to Miami in order to play a La Liga game…but considers that while all the parties involved cannot reach an agreement, this project cannot thrive.â€
La Liga Still Plans to Play in America
The idea to play the game in Miami was the brainchild of Relevent Sports, an entertainment company that recently reached a 15-year agreement with La Liga designed to promote the league in North America in an effort to raise its profile there, much as the English Premier League has successfully done in the United States.
As part of that deal, the expectation was that La Liga would play one regular season match in the United States each year, with top teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Atletico Madrid being featured in each match.
However, that plan was immediately met with hostility. Fans and clubs were reluctant to give up a valuable home game against a prestigious opponent, while the players’ union threatened a strike over not being consulted about the idea before La Liga made the agreement.
La Liga still stands behind the matches on foreign soil, and league president Javier Tebas says that even the fact that two teams were willing to do it is a big step forward.
“Of course I would have liked to play on Jan. 26, but I have to congratulate the two clubs, who allowed us to get to here, because that’s going to help us in the future,†Tebas told Spanish media. “Barca haven’t ruled it out [in the future]. Their decision is measured.â€
Barcelona currently stands atop the La Liga standings with 31 points, three ahead of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. Girona is in ninth place with 21 points. Barcelona is a heavy favorite to walk away with the league title, with William Hill listing the club at 1/4 odds to win the La Liga championship this season.