November 13 – With the row over ground-breaking plans to play a top-flight La Liga fixture in the USA once a season showing little sign of receding, Italian giants Juventus have come out and said they too could be open to playing a regular season match outside of Italy.
The planned Miami fixture between Barcelona and Girona has prompted strong opposition from the Spanish FA, rival clubs and even FIFA, with the game by no means certain to go ahead in January.
But Juventus’ chief revenue officer Giorgio Ricci says the idea represents a good option to widen international appeal.
“To get the league more global is really important,” Ricci was quoted as saying. “Exporting one of the 38 games is a good option.”
The Italian Super Cup is already a regular overseas fixture, first played outside Italy in 1993 and since staged abroad on nine occasions.
“If we look at some other more developed leagues in terms of commercial strategy, the NBA and the NFL, they are exporting one or two of their matches abroad, to the UK or elsewhere in Europe,” said Ricci. “I think it is a good strategy. It is a way to export something that is not an exhibition.0
“The key is finding the right balance between what the commercial need is and not losing the domestic DNA, which is the essence of football.”
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