BARCELONA: LaLiga chief Javier Tebas’ ambitions to stage one game a season in the United States have been dealt a sucker punch after FC Barcelona, following a board meeting on Monday, made it official they would not be playing against FC Girona in a fixture that was scheduled to take place on January 26 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The scheduled fixture was set to be the first time a top European league played an official league match outside of Europe.
Barça declared it considers it an impossibility at this point given a lack of agreement between several organizing bodies. The Spanish FA, as well as UEFA, FIFA, and the Spanish players’ union, had all balked at the idea.
“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,” a statement issued after the meeting said.
“FC Barcelona were and remain willing to play a LaLiga game in Miami, and accepted that income from the game would be shared amongst all Primera Division and Segunda Division 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,” the club said.
