Barcelona Backs Out of Proposed La Liga Match in Miami
Barcelona will not travel to Miami to play a La Liga match against Girona FC on Jan. 27, the club announced in a statement Monday following a meeting of its board of directors.
In August, La Liga announced that it would play at least one match per season overseas as part of a new, 15-year partnership with Relevent Sports to promote the league in North America.
Barcelona and Girona were otherwise scheduled to play their match in Montilivi, Spain, but agreed play the fixture in the United States as part of the deal. The match has become the focus of a conflict, though, with La Liga president Javier Tebas adamant about it being played despite the Spanish players association, the Spanish football federation and FIFA president Gianni Infantino being among the parties not interested in seeing it through.
Now, Barcelona has pulled out, citing discomfort that there has been no consensus resolution yet. Girona has not commented yet on the matter.
“The FC Barcelona Board of Directors have agreed to withdraw their disposal to play their game against Girona FC in Miami, after noting a lack of consensus over this proposal," the club said in its statement. "FC Barcelona were and remain willing to play a La Liga game in Miami, and accepted that income from the game would be shared amongst all Primera División and Segunda División clubs, following the same criteria of television rights money distribution, but consider that this project will not prosper until there is an agreement between all parties.”
