Mexico’s presidential candidates will spar at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 6 in the first national debate ahead of the July 1 election.
Scheduling issues, however, mean the four politicians may be drowned out by the cheers of thousands of soccer fans, with Mexicans up and down the country tuning in to a different channel.
Electoral authorities announced the debate date two weeks ago, but on Monday Mexico’s soccer federation decided to stage a quarter-final game between champions Tigres and Morelia at the same time.
“If you want to see a debate, watch it on (rival network) Televisa. If not, watch soccer on Azteca, I’ll tell you about the ratings the next day,” wrote Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the owner of TV Azteca, on Twitter.