La Liga "formally proposed to move Girona's game against Barcelona to the United States" after a meeting in Madrid on Monday, according to Adriana Garcia of ESPN.com. Delegates from La Liga and the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) met to discuss plans to hold regular-season games in the U.S. beginning this season. The AFE has "vehemently remained against the proposal." In a statement, it said that it has "made known the players' displeasure regarding the lack of information surrounding the agreement of having a league game played in the United States." According to the AFE, La Liga "will prepare a thorough proposal for the players, who will then decide whether to approve it and participate in the game" (ESPN.com, 9/10). In Madrid, Sergio Fernández reported following AFE President David Aganzo's "prior belligerent declarations threatening a strike," there "was no sign of his indignation of the past few weeks" during the meeting on Monday. The word "strike" was "not heard once during the meeting." On the contrary, the AFE "received some proposals it did not expect, and La Liga found a much warmer response than what Aganzo said a few weeks ago." One "piece of information that emerged was that La Liga does not need the AFE's authorization to hold the game." The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), however, "does have to authorize the match in the U.S." (MARCA, 9/10). In Madrid, Robert Álvarez reported Girona confirmed it is "working with La Liga on a proposal to play Barcelona at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami." The plan is for the game to take place Jan. 26 at 8:45pm local time. Girona said that "many of its fans support the game as it is a chance to participate in a historic match." While "awaiting for the game to be finalized, the club accepted the terms of the negotiations" (EL PAÍS, 9/7).
