LaLiga North America has teamed up with FanWide, a website that shows sports fans the closest match-watch party or fan community event at sports bars across the US.
As the official bar network of LaLiga in the US, FanWide will provide fans of Spanish football with easier access to exclusive events and invite them to watch parties across the country.
FanWide’s bar finder functionality will be available in the US on LaLiga.com in the coming months. The functionality will include a map to allow fans to reference their location in relation to the latest LaLiga event.
Key markets for the link-up will include New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC and Miami, with additional cities to be added throughout 2020.
US-based LaLiga fans will be able to check in at FanWide.com to get discounts, enter contests and earn rewards.
LaLiga is keen to further establish its presence in the US after announcing in August 2018 that it would play at least one match per season overseas as part of a 15-year partnership with Relevent Sports. In November, the league’s plans were scuppered – for the time being at least – after a Madrid court opted not to grant permission for a match between Villarreal and Atlético Madrid at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
A proposed game between Girona and Barcelona at Hard Rock Stadium in January 2019 was also shelved after the latter’s board of directors backed out of the fixture citing a “lack of consensus” among stakeholders.