新加坡：西甲主席哈维尔·特巴斯承认，西甲的目标并非在新加坡足球迷中超越英超的受欢迎程度，而是努力“缩小两者之间的差距”。
SINGAPORE: Overtaking the English Premier League (EPL) in popularity among Singapore football fans is not La Liga’s goal, its president Javier Tebas acknowledged, with the Spanish league instead aiming to “bridge the gap”.
“在新加坡，英超早已深入人心。从小人们就开始观看英超比赛，它已然成为当地的足球传统，”他在10月9日接受CNA独家采访时说道。
“In Singapore, you were born with the Premiership. You’ve been watching it since you were little. It’s your football tradition,” he told CNA in an exclusive interview on Friday (Oct 9).
“我们能够在一定程度上缩小这一差距，这就是我们的目标。”特巴斯补充道，鉴于西甲拥有“顶级水准”的比赛且竞争十分激烈，当地球迷也定会乐在其中。
“We can kind of bridge the gap, that’s the target.”Given that the La Lig a offers “t op quality” football and is “very competitive”, Tebas added that local fans would also enjoy it.
特巴斯通过翻译进行发言，此次他前来新加坡是为了参加APOS体育峰会，并在会上发表了演讲。
The Spaniard, who spoke through an interpreter, w as in Singapore for the APOS Sports Edge conference, where he was one of the speakers.
西甲于2017年在新加坡设立了办事处，目前还与新加坡国家足球项目“Unleash the Roar”保持着合作关系。
La Liga opened its Singapore office in 2017 and has an ongoing partnership with the national Unleash the Roar football project.
“（亚洲地区对西甲的）关注度正在持续上升，”特巴斯说道，“该地区有不少本国球员效力于西甲，这也为西甲带来了庞大的球迷群体。”这些球员包括日本球员久保建英（皇家社会）、佐藤龙之介（瓦伦西亚），韩国球员李刚仁（马德里竞技），以及印度尼西亚球员埃米尔·奥德罗（巴列卡诺）。
“The interest (in the La Liga in Asia) is increasing constantly,” Tebas said. “It is a region where we have players from those countries and that brings a big pool (of fans) into the La Liga.”These players include Japan’s Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) and Ryunosuke Sato (Valencia), South Korea’s Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid), as well as Indonesia’s Emil Audero (Rayo Vallecano).
“过去10年来，来自这一地区的球员数量达到了历史最高水平，”特巴斯说道。
“We are in the best moment with players from this region in the last 10 ye ars,” said Tebas.
图为马德里竞技的李刚仁与比利亚雷亚尔的卡洛斯·罗梅罗在场上对抗。会在新加坡举办比赛吗？
Atletico Madrid's Lee Kang-in in action with Villarreal's Carlos Romero. A GAME IN SINGAPORE?
自2013年首次当选联赛主席以来，特巴斯一直致力于推动在西甲举办海外比赛。
Tebas, who was first elected league president in 2013, has long pushed for a La Liga game to be played overseas.
去年12月，西甲曾提议在迈阿密的硬石体育场举办巴塞罗那对阵比利亚雷亚尔的比赛。然而，这一计划因遭到国内舆论的强烈反对、球员的抗议以及法律层面的质疑而最终告吹。
The league had proposed hosti match between Barcelona and Villarreal at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium in December last year. However, the plan collapse d amid fierce domestic criticism, player protests and legal challenges.
反对者认为，在西班牙境外举办联赛比赛会破坏主客场制赛事的公平性。
Critics argued that playing league matches outside Spain would undermine the integrity of the home-and-away format.
如果未来能在海外举办具有历史意义的西甲比赛，新加坡有望成为候选地。特巴斯在接受CNA采访时如此表示，并重申了他此前提出的这一设想。
Should a historic overseas La Liga match one day materialise, Singapore could be in the running Tebas told CNA, reiterating an idea he had mooted previously.
“我们保留了所有选项，包括新加坡。我们深知新加坡拥有承办此类赛事的优良设施。因此，新加坡始终是我们考虑范围内的一个可能地点，”他说道。
“We have all options open including Singapore. We are very well aware that Singapore has very good facilities to host these kinds of matches. Therefore, Singapore will always be in our mind as a possibility,” he said.
“那里有一座相当新的体育场……酒店、机场等设施也都相距不远。当然，新加坡距离西班牙相当遥远。不过从赛程安排来看，我们完全可以协调安排。”他表示，每个赛季在海外举办一场比赛既是对全球西甲球迷的尊重，也能让他们有机会现场观赛。
“You have a fairly new stadium … The hotels, the airport, everything is within a short distance. Of course, it is quite far from Spain. (But) thinking about the calendar, we could manage it.”He said hosting one match per season overseas would be a “sign of respect” for the league’s fans globally, and give them the chance to catch a game live.
“美国最具影响力的联赛——NBA、NFL、NHL——都曾在海外举办比赛，”特巴斯说道，“这样做既能让各地球迷满意，也有助于提升联赛的品牌影响力。”
“The most important leagues in the United States – the NBA, the NFL, the NHL – they all play matches overseas,” said Tebas. “That keeps all the fans happy and also helps towards branding.”
虽然目前尚未有西甲比赛在海外举行，但沙特阿拉伯已与西甲方面签约，将在2029年之前承办西班牙超级杯。不过明年的赛事将在伊斯坦布尔举行，因为沙特将于1月7日至2月5日期间举办亚洲杯。
While no La Liga games have been held abroad, Saudi Arabia has a contract to host the Spanish Super Cup until 2029. Next year’s edition however, will be held in Istanbul as Saudi Arabia is hosting the Asian Cup from Jan 7 to Feb 5.
曼城、因凡蒂诺与足球的未来：在采访中，特巴斯还谈到了近期曝出的英超豪门曼城违反财务规则一事。该俱乐部被认定存在100多项严重违反英超财务规定的行为，但曼城坚决否认所有指控并正在提出上诉。
MAN CITY, INFANTINO AND THE FUTURE During the interview, Tebas also touched on recent findings that EPL giant Manchester City had breached financial rules. The club has been found guilty of more than 100 serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, but have denied all wrongdoing and are appealing.
“曼城的所作所为影响了整个欧洲足坛……也对英格兰足球产生了负面影响，英超其他俱乐部也因此蒙受损失，”特巴斯说道，“因此他们必须受到极其严厉的处罚。”特巴斯也一直是国际足联主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺的批评者，他多次指责国际足联赛程安排过于密集，以及扩大世界杯规模的计划。
“What Manchester City has done has affected the whole of European football … also English football, and the other clubs in the Premier League have been affected negatively by that conduct,” said Tebas. “So they must receive a very severe sanction.”Tebas has also been an outspoken critic of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and has repeatedly criticised the world football governing body over fixture congestion and plans to further enlarge the World Cup.
这位64岁的官员指出，国际足联在管理和治理方面存在“严重问题”，并称其治理规则“还停留在中世纪水平”。因凡蒂诺已宣布，他将于明年3月谋求第四次连任。
There are “serious problems” with regards to management and governance, said the 64-year-old, who added that FIFA’s governance rules “come from the Middle Ages”. Infantino has announced that he will seek a fourth term in March next year.
此前，欧洲、亚洲以及北美、中美和加勒比地区的足球管理机构——欧足联、亚足联和中北美及加勒比海足联均多次呼吁他辞职。
he has faced various calls to resign from UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF, the football governing bodies in Europe, Asia and for North, Central America and the Caribbean respectively.
然而周四，非洲足球联合会旗下的54个会员协会一致表态支持他连任。
On Thursday owever, the 54 member associations of the Confederation of African Football pledged their support for his re-election.
特巴斯表示，他希望有人能站出来与因凡蒂诺竞争，即便胜算不大，这样的人也理应挺身而出。此举能向因凡蒂诺传递一个“重要信号”，表明仍有不少足协与他意见相左。
Tebas said that he hoped a candidate would run against Infantino, and that such an individual should step up even if there is the possibility of losing. Doing so would send an “important message” to Infantino and show that t here are federations that disagree with him.
不过，特巴斯本人排除了参选的可能性。“我认为自己不具备这样的能力。我并非来自足联体系，”他补充道，“我相信会有其他更合适的人选来胜任这一职位。”目前，特巴斯作为西甲联盟主席的任期将持续至2027年。
However, Tebas ruled himself out of any challenge. “I don’t think I have the abilities to do so. I don’t come from the confederation world,” he added. “I believe that there are other candidates that will be more suitable for the job.”Tebas’ term as La Liga chief also runs till 2027.
当被问及是否打算继续留任时，他表示这将取决于各俱乐部的支持程度，毕竟他仍需努力实现此前设定的各项目标。“我并不想独享主席这一职位带来的特权，”他说道，“胜任这份工作的能力我一直都具备。要是没有的话，我也不会告诉你，因为那样就等于让对手得逞了。”
Asked if he plans to continue, he said it would depend on the support of the league’s clubs as he seeks to tackle various targets set out previously. “I’m not really hoarding the privilege (of being president),” he said. “(The strength to do the job is) always (there). And if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t tell you, because then that would be a victory for the enemy.”