The Liga chief is looking to emulate the successful international models of American sporting giants like the NFL and NBA, both of which have successfully exported regular-season games to Europe, Mexico and South America to grow their brands and secure more lucrative broadcasting deals. Tebas believes European football must adopt a similar strategy to remain competitive in the global entertainment market.
Tebas highlighted the irony of European fans embracing American sports while football officials remain hesitant to export their own product. He argued that the cultural exchange is currently one-sided and that Spanish football is missing out on a massive opportunity to solidify its fanbase in the United States. By taking a game to the United States, Tebas hopes to secure the future of the league by engaging younger audiences and ensuring that Spanish clubs remain a dominant force in the global consciousness for decades to come.
“We celebrate Halloween, which we never celebrated 20 years ago. We have NFL games. We have NBA games,” Tebas explained. “Let’s see if 50 years from now we’ll have the stadiums empty, and the ones for the NBA and the NFL full. Because they don’t bring just one game, they all bring many games. They don’t come to Europe on vacation, they come to get fans to sign television deals, to get children for their competitions. In other words, we opened the doors to Europe. Instead, the United States, which opens the doors for us to go, we close them here in Europe.”