By Paul Nicholson
April 26 – The deepening discontent between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been further highlighted by LaLiga’s unequivocal rejection of RFEF president Luis Rubiales’ plan to reinvent the Spanish Supercup as a four-team competition, potentially in Saudi Arabia.
Rubiales is reportedly negotiating a six-year deal worth around €30 million a season for the competition to be played in Saudi as a four-team play-off and starting in 2020. The timing of the competition would also likely move to a January date from its current European summer date.
LaLiga has released a statement saying that it its clubs (the professional teams in the top two Spanish divisions) had voted 39 to 2 against the RFEF proposal at its general assembly.
The statement said that the clubs were opposed to the changes that the proposal would bring to both the competition calendar and the commercial rights structure that is already in place.
The statement also emphasised that the rights to organise and commericalise the competition lie with LaLiga, by Royal Decree, but that the LaLiga would continue with the ‘mediation’ regarding the competition “to reach the best agreement for Spanish football.”
The full statement reads:
“The General Assembly of LaLiga has agreed by a majority of its members (secret ballot with 39.7 votes in favor, 2.2 against and 1.1 abstention) not to support the format changes of the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercup proposed by the RFEF because these types of changes must be agreed with LaLiga as it affects clubs and SADs affiliated with the competition, it suggests a significant variation in the competition calendar and, in the case of the Supercopa, suggests an alteration of the rights acquired by clubs and SADs affiliated with LaLiga.
“Regarding the Coordination Agreement, the irrevocability of all competencies inherent to the organiser and marketer of the competition is shown (among which, of course, are the setting of the schedules of the Spanish professional football competitions and the commercialisation of the rights that correspond to it, the denomination of the Spanish professional football competitions and the commercial exploitation that corresponds to it, and the regulation of the format of the professional competitions), in accordance with the provisions of Law 10/1990, of October 15, of Sports, Royal Decree-law 5/2015, of April 30, of urgent measures in relation to the commercialisation of the rights of exploitation of audiovisual contents of professional football competitions and Royal Decree 1835 / 1991, of December 20, on Spanish sports federations.
LaLiga is set to continue within the framework of the mediation of the CSD based on the principles of good faith and institutional loyalty, in order to reach the best agreements for Spanish football.”
It is a curious turnaround in the on-going war of words between the two bodies. LaLiga’s plan to play a regular season game (Barca vs Genoa) outside of Spain in Miami was met with ridicule and fierce resistance by the national governing body.
Now the RFEF’s plan to create a money-spinning Super Cup format in Saudi has met similar obduracy from the league.
What they both have in common is that they are hunting new money. Similarly in common they would be leaving behind domestic Spanish football fans. At present neither side look like building their own wealth funds much further with this idea, but both risk alienating their home fan base.
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