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Spain's La Liga to Push for U.S. Match Despite FIFA Opposition

Spain's La Liga to Push for U.S. Match Despite FIFA Opposition

(Bloomberg) -- Spain’s elite soccer league La Liga said it will continue the battle to stage one of its regular matches in Miami in January despite opposition from FIFA.

The governing council of FIFA, the world’s ruling soccer body, met to discuss the matter and opined that official matches need to be played within the member territory, according to a statement Friday.

“Should we receive official notification from FIFA that they prohibit the match, we will take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) urgently,” La Liga said in response.

La Liga President Javier Tebas told Bloomberg in July that he wanted to play matches overseas in an effort to raise the profile and marketability of the league, whose clubs reign supreme in Europe’s biggest competitions but lag behind England’s Premier League in terms of revenue. He has encountered resistance locally from the Spanish Football Association and the players’ union.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Hellier in London at dhellier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Aaron Kirchfeld at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net, Chitra Somayaji

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