President of America: “We would love to play a Liga MX match in the United States”
Santiago Banos questioned LaLiga’s priority over Mexican soccer in the United States
The sports president of Club America, Santiago Banos, expressed his disagreement this Friday with the decision that the United States would host an official match of the Spanish league before one of the Liga MX. The executive described it as surprising that priority is being given to the Villarreal-Barcelona match in Miami instead of making room for Mexican soccer, which has long sought to bring a regular season match to that country.
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“We are surprised that priority is being given to a Spanish league match and not to us. If the Barcelona-Villarreal game in the United States is allowed, we will do everything possible to bring a match from our league to that country,” Banos said at a press conference, reported EFE news agency.
The match he is referring to will be played in December 2025, within the 17th round of LaLiga, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. It will be the first official match of the Spanish league in the United States, a fact that generated debate in both Europe and America.
A long-standing dream of Mexican soccer
Banos recalled that the commercial relationship between Liga MX and Major League Soccer (MLS) should have been a compelling argument for Mexican soccer to take that step before LaLiga.
“We would love to play an official league match in the United States. We don't understand why priority is given to a European league match when we are partners with MLS and US soccer, with which we have tournaments like the Leagues Cup,” he stressed.
The leader explained that Liga MX has been analyzing the possibility of bringing a regular season match to the US market for several years. For him, the impact would be immediate and the interest, massive. "We'll do everything possible to bring a Liga MX game to the United States; it's something we'll definitely pursue. It would be impressive to see a Liga MX game there. Who wouldn't imagine, for example, an America-Chivas match? I have no doubt 90,000 or 100,000 people would be in the stadium." He said.
In addition, Banos spoke about the poor performance of Mexican teams in the most recent edition of the Leagues Cup, a tournament in which clubs from Liga MX and MLS participate, but which until now is only played in the United States.