Mumbai: In a stringent environment when the lockdown was the norm, the Spanish Football league – LaLiga, was among the first few sporting properties which gave the world of sport a ray of hope.
The League onboarded over 35 partners across 15 countries in a pandemic hit 2020. These sponsorships helped LaLiga grow 15% over its previous season/clock in 100mn euros in revenue, an exceptional case where some of the biggest businesses/sporting events were grappling with stability/existence.
In a close-knit press conference today, four of LaLiga’s top management reviewed/shared light on some of their institutional achievements of the year 2020 and outlook for the 2021 season. The top brass shared their insights on topics such as league protocols, economic viability, sponsorships, management of stakeholders and how they stitched all these crucial aspects together to ensure they were back in action considering the challenges of the new normal.
Jaime Blanco, Attached to Chairman’s office, said, “Being a world-class football league, we have always set benchmarks, and this was yet another chance to set an example for the sporting world. While such a situation was never imagined by anyone, we wanted to lead from the front. We had certain contingent safety protocols in place and adapted/altered them to align with the given scenario. The planning was detailed, and we ensured that we covered all possible scenarios. With the support and cooperation from clubs, we successfully executed our plan and provided real experience and excitement of a live match again.”
Luis Manfrendi, Economic Control Director, said, “The sporting world has been very dynamic in the recent past. Being the Financial controller, as a norm, we plan and are prepared for financial exigencies. As a practice, since 2013, LaLiga had laid out a series of economic operating procedures/measures for clubs which made our commercial position stronger in a crunch situation like this. It is due to the adherence of the mandate that we have been able to manage an exceptional comeback without great economic damage. This year we have also witnessed a significant increase in revenue coming in from the International market.”
Diego Sanchez, Head of Commercial, said, “2020 has undoubtedly been a very tough year for everyone across the globe. The universal love for the sport of Football and specially LaLiga has been proven once again in these challenging times. The League has an avid audience in almost every country of the world. Last season, LaLiga successfully partnered with 35 brands from 15 different countries bringing its total sponsor count to 42. With the onboarding of the recent sponsors, the league has been able to clock in a revenue of 100 million euros in the pandemic hit year. Going forward we will continue to provide the best possible assets to our partners for them to reach their goals.”
Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said, “LaLiga has undoubtedly been one of the audiences favorite football leagues. The league has always focused on providing the best football action to its stakeholders and in return has got immense support from them. The year gone by has been hard on everyone, but football has been one of the binding factors which have given hope to the people/audience. Being a culturally strong league with a high level of flexibility has made it possible to keep our partners happy and engaged during the pandemic. We hope to continue to bring another exciting football year and keep the viewers entertained.”
