On December 21, there will be no match between Barcelona and Atlético in Miami and the project has been postponed until 2025 | Relief
A new and final twist to the Miami game scenario. This will be impossible to dispute… at least for now. LaLiga and Relevent eventually considered time constraints and, given the terrible panorama created by Dana in Valencia, decided that now was not the time to move forward with this old project. They will try again in 2025. This will be the fourth time they have done this, and also one that is sure to eventually achieve its goal..
This morning, at a meeting of the RFEF Governing Commission, news emerged: La Liga suggested that now is not the time, and gave priority to the current situation in Spain and the urgency of the deadline to suspend their project, which, together with the event organizer Relevent, they have been trying to move forward for six years: playing an official league match in the USA. In particular, they withdrew their request to the Federation for permission to hold the match..
Given this situation, the Royal Spanish Football Federation has also withdrawn consultations with the CSD and therefore the Administrative Court for Sport on whether they can sanction the said match. Sources in the federation explained to Relevo that the reason was the above: La Liga was also going to postpone this idea for now.given that current circumstances do not allow for the match to be played abroad in such a hurry.
The reasons for this radical change in position are varied. On the one hand, they believe that after what happened with DANA in Valencia, it is necessary to change priorities, and they also believe that the pre-election moment of the Federation does not make it easy to develop something like this. Therefore, there will be no Barça-Athleti match in Miami on December 21st.The plan has finally been postponed to 2025.
The consultation sought legal certainty for the RFEF, supporting a hypothetical treatment of a match due to take place at the end of the year at the Hard Rock Stadium between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Recently, federal formation had important procedural problems, and the TAD itself accepted various objections to RFEF decisions.. It was clear that holding this preliminary consultation was a way to strengthen the decision they could make in Las Rosas. They now understand that the consultation is no longer relevant as LaLiga believes that now is not the time to continue with their idea. “There’s no bun oven there” sources in both institutions assure. “The main thing now is people who help those who need it and carry on with the suspended competitions.”
If they finally raised the issue with TAD, there was an additional problem: time. If the match was planned to be played this season, before the end of the year, the decision would have been made immediately, as certain logistics had to be completed just over a month before the game. The administrative court for sports needs at least a week to study such a case and make a decision.which would further complicate the already tight deadlines set by La Liga and the RFEF. This decision means that the development of the party abroad can be carried out more calmly a little later. Although the third time wasn’t a charm either, there will be a fourth try.
The deadlines were already tight, but in the case of RFEF, in addition, everything connected with DANA came together, which would force part of the football calendar to be reorganized due to last week’s suspensions. All the workers at Ciudad del Futbol are focused on this, and the Hetzora commission that runs the house has realized that now is not the time to think or organize other things. A tragedy of this magnitude forces the organization to rethink its priorities.and the game in Miami is no longer among them. LaLiga is also aware of the delicate nature of the moment and has offered to support the Federation on this path, in which it seeks to give priority to people rather than competition as such. The harmony between both institutions is complete.
Fear of challenges
Moreover, the Federation is living in a moment of certain legal uncertainty, with elections looming – November 25 for the General Assembly and December 16 for the presidency – and several TAD rulings in recent months against those who have seen their arguments damaged. . Among them are the disqualification of President Pedro Rocha or the suspension of the electoral process. All this meant that the powers that the Management Committee might have were not entirely clear, and this was an additional reason to consult with the TAD on how to proceed in this particular case.. The RFEF also knew that a new challenge was already brewing, allegedly to exceed its functions, if it approved this plan. Finally, following the expected changes to La Liga, consultation is no longer necessary and the initiative can be resumed at another time, allowing more time for action.
Among the things that remained to be done in this whole process was also the recognition of the party AFE Footballers’ Uniongreen light, which can now wait a little longer. There may also be problems with convincing the American federation, which must give the go-ahead for the match to be held on its territory. The idea of playing a match outside of Spain has not been exhausted, but circumstances are now pushing us to do it more calmly and without insults. At least there is satisfaction that all the main players are already in agreement (clubs, La Liga, RFEF, UEFA, FIFA…). The trial of the case is left behind.
This was La Liga’s third attempt to play a match abroad. The first two came in 2019: first with Girona-Barcelona and then with Villarreal-Atlético Madrid. At the time, Tebas faced fierce opposition from Luis Rubiales, who headed the Federation, and took the case to court, where the judges agreed with him and authorized him to submit Tebas’ resignation.. Additionally, FIFA rules have been stricter regarding matches of this type, which changed this season following an agreement with Relevent to drop a lawsuit brought against them over the matter.
Relevent is exactly the American partner with whom Tebas agreed many years ago to develop this match, which at the moment did not take place. The Stephen Ross company has been the promoter of the meeting for a long time and has always been in alliance with La Liga, but until now it has not been possible to bring it to life.. This time it was closer, among other things, because the RFEF was much more open to the idea than in the past (Rocha gave his approval when he was president and his squires continued to take the same cordial position towards LaLiga). , but a number of problems mean the option disappears again. Next time it will be done more calmly, although we have yet to see what happens in the Federation elections, which could logically change the positions around this story. It depends on the outgoing president…