Oscar Mayo said that it is always "difficult to adapt" to a "sudden change."linkedin
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) informed La Liga on Friday that it would "not support hosting January’s league game between Girona and Barcelona in Miami," according to the AFP. 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 U.S. Soccer Federation, UEFA, CONCACAF and Spain's Superior Sports Council (CSD). La Liga Dir of Int'l Development Oscar Mayo said, "If we want to remain competitive, we have to open ourselves to the world." Mayo said that there are "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 Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Mayo: "It’s like when we changed kickoff times. 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." La Liga's partnership with Relevent Sports was one of "two deals struck" this summer. 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." Lurking "behind both initiatives is one central goal: to catch up with and then surpass the English Premier League." Mayo said, "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. Proud that a market like the U.S. 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" (AFP, 9/23).
HOLDING OUT HOPE: In Madrid, Eduardo J. Castelao reported Tebas said that the letter La Liga received from the RFEF "is not a definitive denial, as La Liga will try to meet all the requirements so that Girona and Barcelona can play in Miami on Jan. 26." The RFEF "has told La Liga that, as it has been proposed, the game is unviable." It "leaves the door open, barely, for the game to happen, but due to the timing, it is nearly impossible that it will be this season." The RFEF wants "the explicit authorization for the game from all 20 La Liga clubs" and the support of the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), which last Thursday expressed its opposition (EL MUNDO, 9/21).
