LaLiga backtracks, cancels Villarreal v Barcelona match in Miami | OneFootball

The Spanish Championship match between Villarreal and Barcelona, scheduled for November 20, will no longer be held in Miami, LaLiga announced this Tuesday.

“LaLiga informs that, after discussions with the promoter of the Official LaLiga Game in Miami, they have communicated their decision to cancel the organization of the event due to the uncertainty generated in Spain over the past few weeks,” the organization said in a statement.

They also “deeply regret that this project, which represented a historic and unparalleled opportunity for the internationalization of Spanish football, cannot move forward.”

“Holding an official match outside our borders would represent a decisive step in the global expansion of our competition, strengthening the international presence of the clubs, the positioning of the players, and the brand of Spanish football in a strategic market like the United States,” it added.

LaLiga emphasized that this initiative was within the regulations and “did not affect the integrity of the competition.”

Tickets for the match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami were set to go on sale this Tuesday, but organizers said that the pre-sale was “delayed” before the cancellation. The match will now be played at Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal’s home ground.

UEFA had previously opposed the idea of national league matches being played abroad, but granted exceptional permission, as was the case with the match between Milan and Como for the Italian Championship, which will be held in February in Australia.

The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) organized protests last weekend. The players stood still for 15 seconds at the start of each match in the 9th round.

LaLiga justified the initiative as a way to ensure the sustainability and growth of Spanish football “in a context of increasing global competitiveness, where leagues like the Premier League and competitions like the Champions League continue to expand their reach and ability to generate revenue.”

It added that ruling out this type of promotion “makes it harder to generate new revenue, limits the clubs’ ability to intervene and compete, and reduces the international projection of the entire national football ecosystem.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.