Infantino said he would prefer to see a great MLS game in the U.S. rather than La Liga playing in the countryGETTY IMAGES
La Liga may "not get permission from FIFA" to hold a match between Girona and FC Barcelona in Miami in January, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino "expressing doubt," according to Adriana Garcia of ESPN.com. The game would be played on Jan. 26 at Hard Rock Stadium, and Infantino has "admitted the idea is not appealing to him." He said that he is "keen for the game to develop" in the U.S. and is "very supportive" of MLS. He added, "I would prefer to see a great MLS game in the U.S. rather than La Liga being in the U.S. In football, the general principle is that you play a 'home' match at 'home', and not in a foreign country." FIFA in a statement said that it has "yet to receive a request by La Liga to stage the game" in the U.S. (ESPN.com, 9/17).
WORK TO DO: THE ATHLETIC's Kevin Williams wrote if La Liga "wants to be considered the best league in the world not only in terms of the football it presents, it will have to raise its global profile." Barcelona is the team that will "help accomplish that." In marketing La Liga in the U.S., and they "desperately need to market it in the U.S. if those dreams of Premier League-level television contracts are to be realized, a lot of work has to be done before moving a league match to Miami makes sense for anyone except U.S.-based supporters of either team." La Liga is broadcast in the U.S. on beIN Sports after it was "jettisoned from the two biggest U.S. television providers -- Comcast, DirecTV/AT&T -- right before the start of the new season." Potential market penetration was "reduced by about two thirds for the channel, related to a fee and carriage dispute." Unless La Liga is on a "proper North American television supplier with a reach that puts it in homes by accident rather than exclusively by choice, exporting the product is pointless." If the product "isn’t marketed in a way that makes it exciting and relatable, exporting the product is pointless" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/17).
