LaLiga Chief Tebas Says Spanish League Game Could be Played Overseas

By Christian Radnedge

Javier Tebas, unhealthy the head of La Liga, symptoms admits that it is a strong possibility that there will be a regular Spanish league season fixture played abroad in the future.

The idea of an overseas game has been suggested by La Liga club representatives in the past. Now it seems that the league itself is on board, though not in the immediate future.

“Definitely not in the short term,” Tebas said at the Leaders Sports Business Summit in London. “In the medium term, yes it is quite possible we will have cup matches or even La Liga matches abroad.”

The Spaniard spoke about the league’s desire to grow the brand in markets such as China and south east Asia as a whole.

That may help with sponsorship opportunities, though Tebas was not concerned on that front saying that they have a number of companies ready to take the place of current La Liga title sponsor BBVA who announced last month that they are to end their partnership with the league at the end of the current season.

BBVA have been associated with the top two tiers of Spanish football since 2008. But Tebas was not worried about finding a replacement.

He said: “We will continue with this model of having one title sponsor. After BBVA announced they were to end their partnership, I already had calls from three interested parties. So we are not worried”.

Tebas also sought to assure worried football fans that in the event of Catalonia becoming an independent nation state, the El Clasico would continue for many years.

Barcelona lies in the Catalonia region where some local government officials have pushed for a referendum to separate from Spain.

However, Tebas said a way would be found to keep La Liga champions Barcelona in the league.

“In the ‘impossible’ case of a unilateral secession Spanish law does not allow clubs from other countries to play in its league,” he said. “It only allows one country; Andorra, whose clubs play in the Spanish league.

“So, in this ‘impossible’ case there would have been an agreement so you can be sure we will have Real Madrid v Barcelona for many years to come.”

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