Spain’s 42 professional clubs have rowed back from a threat to go on strike and will give the government more time to push through a law mandating collective bargaining for TV rights.

Club officials meeting in Barcelona at a professional soccer league (LFP) extraordinary general assembly decided to give the government 10-12 days more leeway to make progress on the law, LFP president Javier Tebas told reporters.

“There needs to be a (law) that regulates the sale of television rights,” Tebas said.

“Without it, the reality is that Spanish football will drop to fifth or sixth in the European ranking,” he warned.

Many clubs in La Liga, including champions Atletico Madrid, Espanyol, Valencia and Sevilla, are hopeful a collective deal would enable them to demand more cash from broadcasters which could then be shared out more equitably.

La Liga is the only top European league in which clubs negotiate their own TV contracts and Spanish teams are under pressure to boost revenue after the English Premier League last month agreed a new collective TV rights deal for 2016-19 worth about £5 billion.