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Spanish Football League to introduce changes for next season

Xinhua, February 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Spanish Football League (LFP) could see some big changes for the 2016-17 season according to its President, Javier Tebas.

Speaking on Spanish radio network, Cadena Cope in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Tebas said the LFP were considering extending the range of kick off times to include a 1pm kick off on Saturday afternoons in order to compete with the English Premier League, as well as changes in the format of the King's Cup knockout competition.

"Possibly next year we will have games at 13:00 on Saturday," said Tebas, pointing out a time which would directly compete with the 13:45 kick off in the Premier League for prime-time viewers in the Middle-East and Asia.

Spain currently sees virtually every game kick off at a different time, with the first game played on Friday night and the last on Mondays, making it possible for TV viewers to watch every match if they so desire, although it should also be pointed out that the constantly changing kick off times have affected season ticket sales as fans of the league's smaller clubs see start times moved across four days.

However, the LFP President, implied that the needs of fans who visit stadiums were of secondary importance when he said he was "convinced" that within five years "we will earn more money from foreign TV rights than for domestic rights."

Tebas also said he was in favor of changing the format of the Cup, which is currently played over two legs, meaning there are fewer chances of a small side creating an upset and which also leads to a fixture pile-up for sides which progress through to the later rounds in January and February.

"The Cup is losing interest and we have to look at ways of reinventing the competition," said Tebas. Endit