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What's the story?
In a bid to grow its international audience, La Liga matches will be played in the United States of America. According to a report in the Financial Times, this could even happen as early as this season.
The deal is a joint venture between La Liga and Relevent Sports which was founded by NFL team Miami Dolphins' billionaire owner Stephen Ross.
In case you didn't know...
Relevent Sports were also responsible for founding the International Champions Cup. The pre-season tournament - which has gained popularity with every summer - now sees the top European sides face each other in venues around the world with the bulk of the teams travelling to the US.
This would be a first for La Liga (or any top European league for that matter). Games are usually played on a home-away basis in the European leagues.
Heart of the matter
The deal is still in its nascent stages according to the report. There is still no clear decision made on which clubs will play in the US, how many games will be played overseas, and which cities will get to host the La Liga teams.
“Our goal is to get one game off the ground; we’ll see how it proliferates from there.” - Danny Sillman, chief executive of Relevent
Other companies such as IMG and Wasserman were also in the running before Relevent snapped up the deal with La Liga. The idea is to garner fans and compete with the popularity of the Premier League and move one step closer to securing a broadcasting deal in the US.
“We’re devoted to growing the passion for soccer around the world. This groundbreaking agreement is certain to give a major impulse to the popularity of the beautiful game in the US and Canada.” - La Liga President Javier Tebas
La Liga also recently penned a deal to stream their matches for free in the Indian sub-continent. Starting with the 2018/19 season, all 380 matches in the Spanish top flight can be viewed on Facebook.
Also read: La Liga Telecast - How to watch all the games on Facebook
What's next?
This was an idea that was floated a decade ago in the Premier League as they looked to garner fans worldwide. However, that never really took off as they were met with opposition from fans and the media.
But it is an idea that the NFL has implemented as they looked to increase the fanbase for American Football. Even Tottenham Hotspur inked a deal to refurbish their stadium to include features to convert it into an NFL pitch.
Whether the clubs will agree to play overseas and sacrifice a home game remains to be seen.
