Miami La Liga match scuppered by Spanish court

Madrid (AFP) – Attempts to stage a Spanish La Liga match in Miami were foiled on Friday by a Madrid court which ruled the Villarreal v Atletico Madrid tie scheduled for December 6 cannot be played in the United States.

Spanish football’s top flight features star attractions Barcelona and Real Madrid and enjoys a worldwide following it would like to exploit.

La Liga were making a second bid to play one of its games in the United States as part of an overseas development strategy, but the football federation (RFEF) blocked the move.

Last season Barcelona and regional rivals Girona had a bid to stage a game in Florida stopped by the courts also in the face of opposition from the RFEF.

Spanish league matches may still eventually be played in the USA as La Liga chief Javier Tebas says they will persist with their ambition to stage games internationally with a court case in February set to decide if La Liga can stage games outside Spain.

“Friday’s decision doesn’t rule out a future match,” Tebas said on Friday.

“We will keep trying because we feel its the way to go,” he said.