Barcelona president says La Liga should play three games abroad a year

World
Europe

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has suggested that La Liga, Spanish football's top flight, should host three games per season overseas.

The prospect of staging games abroad has been contentious in Spain ever since La Liga signed a 15-year agreement with entertainment company Relevent Sports designed to promote the sport and La Liga in North America in August last year.

That deal included hosting one regular season Spanish league game on American soil per season – with Girona's home match against Barca earmarked to be played on January 26 at the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Those plans were met by opposition from the Spanish Football Federation, however, in addition to European and world governing bodies UEFA and FIFA, with Barca ultimately pulling out of the commitment in December due to "a lack of consensus surrounding the proposal."

Bartomeu believes La Liga should seek to revive the proposal next season though and look further afield as well.

"If we want La Liga to be strong, we are to play in these games," Bartomeu said in an interview with the BBC.

"At Barca, we have sometimes been talking to La Liga and have been telling them that if you want to promote La Liga more and more, then we should have three games of the year outside (Spain): one in America, one in the Middle East and one in Asia.

Messi-led Barcelona played an exhibition match with the Chinese Super League (CSL) club Beijing Guoan in the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium, Beijing on August 8, 2010. /VCG Photo

Barcelona has confirmed their first summer tour to China in nine years on October 2018, saying that "China and Japan are two of the world's 10 most strategically important countries and Barca is the most followed and beloved club among football fans in the region."

"We have to go and be closer to the fans. We do the summer tours in July and August to go closer to the fans. It's us showing respect to them, going to Miami would have [shown] respect to our fans in the USA."

A La Liga spokesman told Reuters: "We strongly support any club's international ambitions as we certainly share the vision of bringing La Liga action closer to fans everywhere and making La Liga a stronger international brand."

Source(s): Reuters