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La Liga games to be played in US

An unfulfilled ambition of the Premier League was to stage some matches abroad. However, now La Liga have stolen a march on them by arranging to stage matches in the US. The undoubted intention is to challenge the popularity of the Premier League in another step towards the globalisation of football.

The overseas games form part of a joint venture between La Liga and Relevent Sports, a US promoter backed by Stephen Ross, the billionaire owner of NFL team the Miami Dolphins. The intention is to build La Liga as a consumer brand in the US which in turn would lead to greater income from media rights.

The games could be particularly attractive to Hispanics in the US, but it is not yet known how many will be played or where they will be staged. Moreover, Major League Soccer is raising objections to the plan and could block it.

If the scheme is a financial success, the Premier League may revive their plan to play games abroad.

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