BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish leagues plan to play a regular-season match in the United States in January took a major hit when Barcelona backed down from its commitment.
The clubs board of directors said on Monday it agreed to withdraw the teams intention to play the game against Girona near Miami. The board said Barcelona remains behind the idea of the game aboard, but considered the “project will not prosper until there is an agreement between all parties.”
The Spanish league last month took legal action against the countrys soccer federation in an effort to get approval for the Jan. 26 match at Hard Rock Stadium. A court decision was expected on Thursday.
The league needs approval from the federation to be able to play abroad. The federation has yet to approve or deny the leagues request, having raised concerns that the overseas game would not comply with Spanish and international regulations and TV broadcast contracts. It also said the overseas match could harm the other 18 league clubs.
Barcelona said in its statement it “accepted that income from the game would be shared” among all first-division and second-division clubs following the criteria for television rights money distribution.
Other stakeholders, including UEFA and CONCACAF, also needed to approve the match. The FIFA council recently opposed the idea, although its permission for the match was not mandatory.
Staging the game in the United States is seen as an important step for the Spanish league to continue expanding internationally and to close the gap on the powerful English Premier League. The Spanish league has a 15-year deal with sports and entertainment group Relevent to promote soccer and take games to the United States.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish leagues plan to play a regular-season match in the United States in January took a major hit when Barcelona backed down from its commitment.
The clubs board of directors said on Monday it agreed to withdraw the teams intention to play the game against Girona near Miami. The board said Barcelona remains behind the idea of the game aboard, but considered the “project will not prosper until there is an agreement between all parties.”
The Spanish league last month took legal action against the countrys soccer federation in an effort to get approval for the Jan. 26 match at Hard Rock Stadium. A court decision was expected on Thursday.
The league needs approval from the federation to be able to play abroad. The federation has yet to approve or deny the leagues request, having raised concerns that the overseas game would not comply with Spanish and international regulations and TV broadcast contracts. It also said the overseas match could harm the other 18 league clubs.
Barcelona said in its statement it “accepted that income from the game would be shared” among all first-division and second-division clubs following the criteria for television rights money distribution.
Other stakeholders, including UEFA and CONCACAF, also needed to approve the match. The FIFA council recently opposed the idea, although its permission for the match was not mandatory.
Staging the game in the United States is seen as an important step for the Spanish league to continue expanding internationally and to close the gap on the powerful English Premier League. The Spanish league has a 15-year deal with sports and entertainment group Relevent to promote soccer and take games to the United States.
