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Agence France-Presse

“The world is our playing field,” says an inscription on the wall at La Liga’s headquarters in Madrid, written in Spanish: “El mundo es nuestro campo de juego.”
It seems an apt motif, as Spanish football confronts questions about the very essence of its national game, and where it should call home.
“If we want to remain competitive, we have to open ourselves to the world,” La Liga’s director of international development, Oscar Mayo, said.
But others are still to be convinced.
La Liga was informed by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Friday that it would not support hosting January’s league game between Girona and Barcelona in Miami. The two sides play the reverse fixture at Camp Nou on Sunday.
At board level, both clubs have put their names to La Liga’s request but key players retain doubts.
Even if the RFEF changed its mind, the plan needs approval from the US Soccer Federation, as well as Uefa and CONCACAF – the governing bodies in charge of European and North American football respectively – and the Spanish sport council.
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Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui have expressed reservations while Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde appears a reluctant advocate. “It is our intention, but there is a long way to go,” he said.
La Liga are not deterred. Mayo said there were two red lines that would not be crossed: “It will never be more than one match (in a season)” and “It will not be the Clasico”.
La Liga has a 15-year agreement with Relevent Sports to promote football in the US and Canada. Some speculate that if the move is blocked this season it would only amount to a postponement, not a cancellation.
“It’s like when we changed kick-off times,” Mayo said.
“Whenever you are innovative and make a sudden change it is difficult to adapt, but we also know that as soon as we do, as time passes, we will all agree that it was a wise decision.”
The partnership with Relevent was one of two deals struck last summer which have excited La Liga.
The other was a contract secured with Facebook to begin broadcasting matches free and live in eight countries in South Asia, including to India’s population of 1.3 billion.
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Lurking behind both initiatives is one central goal: to catch up with and then surpass the English Premier League.
“We have the ambition to overcome the Premier League. These deals are the two good new stories for us this summer,” Mayo said.
In terms of television rights, La Liga will collect at least €1.1 billion (US$1.3 billion) per year from Spanish broadcast companies between 2019 and 2022, plus €896 million from abroad.
These figures still pale in comparison to the English Premier League, which expects to pocket at least €1.6 billion per year from its national market alone over the same period.
For La Liga, the difference has to be made up overseas. “In the next four or five years, we should be at least at the same level,” predicted Mayo.
The shift towards Asia has already begun. Last season, La Liga’s showpiece match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu kicked off at 1pm, aimed at luring fans in Tokyo, Beijing and Delhi.
European football clubs are missing an opportunity to truly gain a foothold in the U.S. with lacklustre summer tours
But a glance at Barca’s social media figures shows the challenge ahead.
The club’s English-language Twitter account has millions of followers, streets ahead of its Indonesian version with 378,000 and Japanese with 235,000, even after Andres Iniesta’s groundbreaking move to Vissel Kobe last summer.
La Liga believes interest from abroad should be considered not a threat but an opportunity, and a privilege.
“For all Spanish football – presidents, managers, fans, players – having a product that is the best league in the world and that is followed all over the world should make us feel very proud,” Mayo said.
“Proud that a market like the US is so interested in taking one game a year, for example. Obviously we have to do it very carefully, take into account the fans, and the first years will not be easy.
“But we are working in little steps and we are working to make it happen.”


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FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018 file photo FIFA President Gianni Infantino gestures prior the UEFA Super Cup final soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the Lillekula Stadium in Tallinn, Estonia. In an unusual move between two of soccer's most powerful organizations, FIFA has hired a pair of top lawyers away from UEFA. FIFA, soccer's world governing body, is run by president Gianni Infantino. He was the general secretary at UEFA, European soccer's governing body, until 2016.(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

epa07037016 Real Madrid's head coach Julen Lopetegui smiles during a press conference at Valdebebas sports facilities in Madrid, Spain, 21 September 2018. Real Madrid will face RCD Espanyol in their La Liga soccer match on 22 September 2018. EPA-EFE/FERNANDO ALVARADO

A handout picture released by La Moncloa press office shows Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (C) receiving a signed Spanish football jersey from Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales (R) next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino (L) during a meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on September 12, 2018. (Photo by Fernando CALVO / LA MONCLOA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / LA MONCLOA / FERNANDO CALVO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Vissel Kobe's Andres Iniesta, second right, of Spain celebrates his goal with his teammates during their J-League soccer match against Jubil Iwata in Kobe, west of Tokyo, Saturday Aug. 11, 2018. (Meika Fujio/Kyodo News via AP)

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Spanish football confronts questions about the very essence of its national game, and where it should call home


Spanish football should be proud of foreign interest, says La Liga as RFEF refuses to support US game

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Spanish football confronts questions about the very essence of its national game, and where it should call home

Spanish football confronts questions about the very essence of its national game, and where it should call home