La Liga in America

[Spike]

7 hours ago, SirBalon said:

But clubs are becoming franchises though, and no better example than Manchester City. This is the route being undertaken by some clubs at least for the now. 

They literally aren't franchises. Come one Tony! You know that being a franchise would mean they are an entity operated by an individual through a license from the Spanish Federation. That meaning, if me or you could muster up the funds we could establish a team in La Liga through purchasing a licence via RFEF. Also meaning any contract signed by a player is owned by the RFEF not the 'franchise' (that is how American teams 'trade' contracts). 

[SirBalon]

9 hours ago, Spike said:

They literally aren't franchises. Come one Tony! You know that being a franchise would mean they are an entity operated by an individual through a license from the Spanish Federation. That meaning, if me or you could muster up the funds we could establish a team in La Liga through purchasing a licence via RFEF. Also meaning any contract signed by a player is owned by the RFEF not the 'franchise' (that is how American teams 'trade' contracts). 

It's as franchise as you're gonna get mate and it's at a level that already breaks football ideals in every way shape and form. The City Football Group is as far as I'm concerned is a franchise in almost every fashion only that as you say, the federations still hold the contracts to the players.  But that's just a mere detail because clubs are making money off the price on a player's head for quite some time.  What do you think the City Football Group are doing with Girona FC?  We're talking small details here that differentiates it all but in essence they work the same and I would expect that if nothing occurs, then other major clubs will do similar things.

[SirBalon]

7 hours ago, Dan said:

I'm not unaware of it, I'm just saying I quite simply will never ever accept it, but what do I matter? I'm just one of many who cares for the game, who are ultimately going to lose out eventually simply because we're the minority now.

Artful Dodger said some controversial things in this thread but "the plastics have won" is basically the truth. I've moaned about plenty of things about the way things have gone over the years in football but nothing's tipped me that final bit over the edge - but once Premier League games are being played abroad then that's me out, I simply cannot get on board with that anymore, it's futile, it's an abandonment of the round robin format that has been the backbone for English football for over 100 years. It isn't football.

I think when it comes to England (or leaves it, should I say), and I take absolutely no pleasure saying "when" rather than "if", I think I'll do a mixture of non-league football and football on the continent, probably at bizarre leagues, going to grounds I never thought I'd go - at least it's football as I know it. I've no doubt my own club would be in favour of this, for all the good they've done these owners didn't come here to treat our fans, if there's money in it for them they will be in support of it, and I can't get behind that.

I'm not ignorant to what's going on, I'm massively cynical by nature but it doesn't mean I accept things. This crosses the line for me. It's an absolute disgrace.

Mate, I get all that and I feel the same but I also know nothing and nobody can change the route it's all going down.  You will continue to support your club in the manner you have always done, I guarantee you that!  You have accepted a hell of a lot of things that weren't there when I was growing and I'm sure older folk than me at the time were saying the same thing.

Artful Dodger indeed says the Plastics have won and they have, but the plastics were created by the football authorities searching to sell the product in the most profitable manner and also the clubs globetrotting physically and productively right from the word go.  The game created the plastics!  They aren't demons that appeared and possessed football with their evil souls.

[Carnivore Chris]

@Dan I don't actually think this will happen with the Premier League to be honest, as it already generates a massive amount of money and is already well enough marketed around the world for a need to do this. La Liga are doing it due to being way behind the Prem financially and getting desperate.

 

 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, The Rebel CRS said:

@Dan I don't actually think this will happen with the Premier League to be honest, as it already generates a massive amount of money and is already well enough marketed around the world for a need to do this. La Liga are doing it due to being way behind the Prem financially and getting desperate.

 

 

It's not the Premier League that La Liga are looking to compete with in a financial sense and La Liga aren't concerned with the product that is the Premier League...  Infact the only relativness the Premier League has with La Liga is looking at the model that is the English game and analysing what Spanish football has so as to direct its approach. This is how marketing works mate! 

Example...

Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein aren't Gucci or Balenciaga, but Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein have directed their brand names into the fashion industry psyche by using the model the premier fashion brands have and according to the public mind which has been handled to perfection and sees the overal scope in a similar vein.

La Liga are competing and looking to maintain their vast advantage over the fast evolving Serie 'A' and lower down the scale the Bundesliga.

On the practical side of things (on the field) La Liga competes and generates as much professional interest (if not more) than the Premier League which is the important part for football fans and why La Liga has been handled very well indeed.

What we're talking about with all these new adventures such as this one on this thread and many others is how Spain's clubs can generate the financial clout to compete in wages and signing fees for the present and future.  Players (top players) demand top whack wages and their acquisitions mean these things have to happen... Money doesn't just appear in club bank accounts, it has to be generated!

We don't get all this these days just from selling shirts, season tickets and tv money... The game has moved further along.

[Spike]

6 hours ago, SirBalon said:

It's as franchise as you're gonna get mate and it's at a level that already breaks football ideals in every way shape and form. The City Football Group is as far as I'm concerned a franchise in almost every fashion only that as you say, the federations still hold the contracts to the players.  But that's just a mere detail because clubs are making money off the price on a player's head for quite some time.  What do you think the City Football Group are doing with Girona FC?  We're talking small details here that differentiates it all but in essence they work the same and I would expect that if nothing occurs, then other major clubs will do similar things.

That isn’t franchising though, it’s a conglomeration! Just because franchise has negative connotations doesn’t mean you just change the definition! Use conglomerate.

MamCity doesn’t hand out licensing to their affiliates clubs, they just own them. Franchises are nearly fully independent but adhere to regulations arbitrated by a league and players union.

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

That isn’t franchising though, it’s a conglomeration! Just because franchise has negative connotations doesn’t mean you just change the definition! Use conglomerate.

MamCity doesn’t hand out licensing to their affiliates clubs, they just own them. Franchises are nearly fully independent but adhere to regulations arbitrated by a league and players union.

To the football fan on the street it's the same thing mate even if it isn't. What you can appreciate though is that it's all far and away from what football clubs were not even all that long ago.

[Spike]

7 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

To the football fan on the street it's the same thing mate even if it isn't. What you can appreciate though is that it's all far and away from what football clubs were not even all that long ago.

Just because people are idiots doesn’t mean we have to lower our discourse to that level.

[The Palace Fan]

Bet Beckham had a massive smile on his face when he heard Miami. Impeccable timing on his part.

[The Palace Fan]

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has rejected La Liga's plan to play one fixture per season in the United States.

[SirBalon]

And it doesn't look like the RFEF are going to give their go ahead.  Without the Spanish football federation allowing it, then the players can't go as they own the registration.

[The Palace Fan]

La Liga officials remain committed to playing one of Barcelona's league matches with Girona in Miami, despite opposition to the plans.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has attempted to delay the league's plans by demanding more information on the game, which also must be approved by the United States soccer federation and regional bodies UEFA and CONCACAF.

Staging the match abroad is part of the league's goal of promoting football and its brand in other countries, but the idea has also drawn criticism from some players, fans and clubs.[/quote

[SirBalon]

9 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

 

Yeah... The LFP (La Liga) are finding it difficult to validate the game via the authorities with the main one being the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) due to the fact that on principle the game itself defeats the object of the fundamentals of league football.  If it were a cup game of any kind then there would be a valid argument as cup football has historically been a showpiece game within the sport.  Whereas league football (from a quote which has been cited from Kubala lately... "League football is what separates our sport and gives it identity.  League football is a sporting clash between two customs, two local cultures and defends local identity")... is about national sentiments... It's about a town versus a town, a town versus a city or a city versus a city.  It's what the national game was based on.

All of that clashes with being able to validate the argument just for commercial and financial reasons alone.

[Stan]

Real Madrid have heavily opposed the plans

Quote

 

Real Madrid have opposed staging a Spanish league game between Barcelona and Girona in the United States.

La Liga asked the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for permission to hold the match in Miami on 26 January.

In a letter to the RFEF Real said it was "fundamental" teams play "home and away at each other's stadium" for "the integrity and equality" of La Liga.

The RFEF president Luis Rubiales has spoken out against the game, as has the Spanish players' union (AFE).

European governing body Uefa, the US Soccer Federation and Concacaf, which governs the game in north and central America and the Caribbean region also need to give their permission for the game to happen.

The proposed 'home' match for Girona, a Catalan town situated around 60 miles north of Barcelona, would take place at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on 26 January at 19:45 GMT.

La Liga, Spain's top division, has agreed to play one game a season in the US as part of a 15-year deal with media company Relevent.

In their letter, Real said: "First of all we would like to declare that Real Madrid were never informed that La Liga had requested to play the game nor of the intention to make the request, and we were never asked our opinion on it.

"Nor, obviously, did La Liga obtain Real Madrid's agreement, despite the fact that this game affects a competition in which we participate."

Following a meeting with La Liga, the AFE said the players would have the "final say".

La Liga President Javier Tebas recently said: "Teams have also played at other stadiums while their grounds are being renovated or in order to generate more revenue.

"If we really believe in this sporting puritanism then we would need to make many changes in football."

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45887927

[SirBalon]

18 hours ago, Stan said:

Real Madrid have heavily opposed the plans

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45887927

I read an in depth report about a week ago on why Real Madrid are massively opposing it and to be honest I get it from their point of view seeing as football in in large scale a brand name business these days.

Real Madrid feel betrayed and as far as they're concerned certain things that have been happening over the past four to five years now look like a pre-planned prelude to the taking of La Liga in physical form to the United States of America.

Basically...

La Liga (LFP) 5 years ago (2013) opened a marketing office in New York where they made it easier for themselves to employ high profile young American sports marketing post graduates with a mission to work in conjunction with the press and media in general.

A year later (2014) FC Barcelona bought a massive piece of prime real estate office space in the centre of Manhattan (New York) so as to open their strategic point of tactical brand name study with which to plan and execute the FCB brand name into the North American psyche in the future.

Then this has come along with the LFP taking La Liga to the USA and FC Barcelona being the club to promote the La Liga brand name via physical official matches.

[Stan]

 

 

[Cicero]

Finally sanity is restored 

@SirBalon Told you. 

[SirBalon]

2 hours ago, Cicero said:

Finally sanity is restored 

@SirBalon Told you. 

Yeah could see that one coming from Infantino who is up the RFEF’s arse seeing as he worked there for years. 

[The Palace Fan]

La Liga says it could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FIFA president Gianni Infantino rejected its plans to play Spanish league games in the United States.

Speaking at the FIFA council meeting in Rwanda, Infantino voiced his and the world governing body's opposition to the plans which were scheduled to commence with Barcelona playing Girona in Miami on January 26.

La Liga announced that it had agreed a 15-year deal with US media company Relevent to promote football in North America in the summer but had already been met with some opposition before Infantino's remarks.

[ScoRoss]

This is fucking embarrassing for Spanish football. A petition... Basically turning into middle aged women on Facebook with this...

[SirBalon]

30 minutes ago, ScoRoss said:

This is fucking embarrassing for Spanish football. A petition... Basically turning into middle aged women on Facebook with this...

This is Javier Tebas (LFP President) all over!  He like many personalities in Spanish football are self centred and have a big superiority complex.  The main factor here is Tebas (LFP) trying to get one over on Rubiales (RFEF).  It's an embarrassing war.

[Inverted]

I'm guessing that, considering the comparative popularity of Barcelona and Girona in America, that a game in America would essentially be another home game for Barca.

What if Barca strolled to an easy 4-0 win over there and won the league by one or two points, or even on goal difference?

 

[SirBalon]

19 minutes ago, Inverted said:

I'm guessing that, considering the comparative popularity of Barcelona and Girona in America, that a game in America would essentially be another home game for Barca.

What if Barca strolled to an easy 4-0 win over there and won the league by one or two points, or even on goal difference?

 

That more than anything is the real question. If we remove sentiment and the fundamental ethics of domestic club football which are based on local identity and the fact that home is home and should always mean this...  What we could potentially have here is a perversion of the competition itself because everyone knows (just as an example of statistical observation) that playing away to Girona in La Liga is a tough task for the top teams especially.

[SirBalon]

Just to put further emphasis on the possible perversion of the whole situation surrounding a La Liga game in the US and how it has all been concocted...

the LFP put three options on the table to the member clubs of the LFP where the games could be played knowing full well that the La Liga club selected to play this season's game in the United States of Amercia would be FC Barcelona...

The three options were;

• New York City
• Florida (Miami)
• California (San Diego or Los Angeles)

All three states and especially the cities selected have the biggest FC Barcelona support in the country.  It's more than obvious what's been going on here which makes Real Madrid's complaint to UEFA and FIFA more than understandable.

[ScoRoss]