rewrite this title LaLiga players opposed to Barça game in Miami

Spain’s Professional Footballers’ Association (AFE) say they are opposed to taking Barcelona’s league fixture against Villarreal to Miami in December after the captains of the 20 LaLiga sides met on Thursday.

AFE say the lack of dialogue and information made available by LaLiga regarding taking the match to the United States makes it impossible to support the proposal.

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“Backed by the captains of the LaLiga clubs, AFE opposes playing a league game outside of Spain,” the syndicate said in a statement.

“The captains of every team met on Thursday to discuss the request, as announced by the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] earlier in August, for a game to be played outside of the country, which was submitted to UEFA and FIFA.

“AFE requested a detailed report from the league in order to inform the players of the situation and hear their opinions. In its response, the league only informed us of the progress of the authorisation process.

“In view of this situation, given the lack of dialogue and information provided, the initiation of a project promoted by LaLiga and approved without any information by the RFEF is disrespectful to the players, as it involves changes at a sporting level in addition to travel outside the country as workers within the framework of a domestic league.”

LaLiga have been trying to take a game to the U.S since 2018, with Barça, Villarreal, Girona and Atlético Madrid among the clubs to have been open to playing a league game abroad at various points.

A major hurdle appeared to be overcome earlier this month when the RFEF finally agreed to take a request to UEFA and FIFA — the governing bodies for football in Europe and globally, respectively — for Villarreal’s home game against Barça, scheduled for the weekend commencing Dec. 20, to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium.

The plans still need the backing of both UEFA and FIFA, with both organisations yet to comment, as well as U.S Soccer and Concacaf, although a lawsuit settled between Relevant Sports — LaLiga’s business partners in the U.S — and U.S Soccer and FIFA recently had seemed to pave the way for a foreign league to play a domestic fixture in the U.S.

However, AFE’s statement, which comes after Real Madrid also strongly opposed the plans, shows there is still resistance to the project within the game.

“We are united,” AFE’s statement added. “We want respect and transparency. With this message, AFE demands that the Spanish institutions involved provide all the information on a project that would alter the competition.

“This is something that requires dialogue, negotiation and prior agreement with all stakeholders and, fundamentally, with the main players, which are us.”