La Liga Matches to Take Place in the United States as Part of New Initiative

The organisers of the International Champions Cup have reached an agreement with La Liga to stage regular season Spanish league matches in the United States as early as this season.

​In a press release, ​La Liga confirmed the launch of a new 15-year initiative called LaLiga North America, which will have the primary goal of promoting football in the United States and Canada.

This is a joint venture with Relevent Sport, the multinational media, sports and entertainment group who successfully staged this summer's International Champions Cup, most of which was held in the United States.

"The newly founded organization will work to cultivate soccer culture in the U.S. and Canada using the unequalled assets of LaLiga, the world’s best soccer league featuring internationally recognized clubs and players," the press release read.

"Moreover, North America will be exposed to the unparalleled Spanish soccer culture, renowned for its passion, drama, history, flair and creativity."

"As part of the agreement, LaLiga plans to bring a regular season club match to the United States, the first to be played outside of Europe."

La Liga President Javier Tebas said: “We’re devoted to growing the passion for soccer around the world. This ground-breaking agreement is certain to give a major impulse to the popularity of the beautiful game in the U.S. and Canada."

This is a first for European football, although the idea of a "39th game" in the ​Premier League, staged around the world to spread global recognition, has been touted in the past.

The best parallel would be with the NFL, which sends 3 or 4 regular season matches to London and one to Mexico as part of their annual International Series.