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MUMBAI: The Spanish football league La Liga, which houses popular clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, is bullish on India.
The league is planning significant investments in the country towards opening offices, get ambassadors to play exhibition matches and grow the game at grassroots level to popularise the league in the country, Javier Tebas, president of the league told ET in an exclusive interaction.
Tebas, a lawyer by profession and a Real Madrid fan, did not mince his words when asked about importance of India in his scheme of things, the impact of Brexit (or the lack of it), and whether clubs like Barcelona or Espyanol can play if Catalan countries go after for independence from Spain.
"India is a very important strategic market for La Liga and we hope to grow in India further and make it the biggest football league in this country," said Tebas. "We can also help in the growth of Indian football in general."
Overtime, even as cricket remains the most followed game and Indian Premier League (IPL) the most watched tournament, other international sports like football, basketball, and wrestling are gaining popularity slowly.
American basketball league, National Basketball Association (NBA), and WWE already have offices in India, and La Liga would be the next to join the list.
"We will open offices in India by September with people fully employed by La Liga to start working towards the growth of the league in the country," added Tebas. He added that the league will work closely with Indian broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), the first vehicle to reach to the viewer in the first vehicle to reach to the viewer in the sub-continent.
"We will have investment in human capital. We will also get legends like Raul (Raul Gonzalez Blanco), Puyol (Carles Puyol), Luis Figo and more to play match of legends and can also fly teams here to have exhibition matches," said Tebas.
The third and most important area where La Liga is planning investments in India is at the grassroots level.
"We want to reach out to the underprivileged young people," he said, while refusing to put a number to the quantum of investments. "It is difficult to quantify the investments at this time, but depending on the acceptance and success of these initiatives, we will figure it," he said.
La Liga has already changed the kickoff times of the matches in order to reach out to more viewers in the Asian markets like India, China and other strategic markets. Starting July 2, it also launched one more kickoff time at 1 pm (4.30 pm India time).
The change in the kickoff times has helped both, viewership as well as value of the telecast rights, to go up, claims Tebas.
"Since the change in the kickoff times, our revenue from the telecast rights from international markets, outside of Spain, has tripled, while in terms of audiences, the viewership has more than doubled in the last three years."
"It is an interesting move considering the popularity of Barcelona and Real Madrid in India," said Indranil Das Blah, partner at sports and celebrity management firm CAA KWAN.
"The on-ground presence will open a lot more avenues for the league. It also shows their intent for investing in the country and not just looking for a quick buck."
Blah added that like NBA, which is in India for over five years, it will be imperative for La Liga to invest in building the sport. "It can't just be a commercial outfit," he added.
Meanwhile, Tebas also brushed off any concerns arising from Brexit on the Spanish league. "Brexit will not have any impact on La Liga. Players (from Bretain) will continue to play. We have players from Turkey as well as Russia playing for our clubs."
When asked whether there will be any uncertainty over clubs like Barcelona, given the Catalonia countries demanding independence, he added, "I don't see Catalonia countries leaving Spain for multiple legal reasons. But, if they do, Barcelona and other Catalan clubs such as Espanyol (Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona) will not be able to play in la Liga as per the Spanish law."
He noted that the only foreign club which can participate in a Spanish competition, as per the Spanish law, can be from Andorra.
Tebas added that over the years, the financial situation of the clubs of the league has improved compared to three years ago. "Due to the centralisation of the rights in Spain, the distribution of the media rights revenue of La Liga spreads out much more equal than in the past.
It is helping the second tier clubs to sign good players and get more competitive." Coming back to India, Tebas said that while it is not a very big market in terms of financial potential today, it will change in the next five years.
Spanish football league La Liga bets big on India, plans to take game to grassroots - The Economic Times on Mobile
The league is planning significant investments in the country towards opening offices, get ambassadors to play exhibition matches and grow the game at grassroots level to popularise the league in the country, Javier Tebas, president of the league told ET in an exclusive interaction.
Tebas, a lawyer by profession and a Real Madrid fan, did not mince his words when asked about importance of India in his scheme of things, the impact of Brexit (or the lack of it), and whether clubs like Barcelona or Espyanol can play if Catalan countries go after for independence from Spain.
"India is a very important strategic market for La Liga and we hope to grow in India further and make it the biggest football league in this country," said Tebas. "We can also help in the growth of Indian football in general."
Overtime, even as cricket remains the most followed game and Indian Premier League (IPL) the most watched tournament, other international sports like football, basketball, and wrestling are gaining popularity slowly.
American basketball league, National Basketball Association (NBA), and WWE already have offices in India, and La Liga would be the next to join the list.
"We will open offices in India by September with people fully employed by La Liga to start working towards the growth of the league in the country," added Tebas. He added that the league will work closely with Indian broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), the first vehicle to reach to the viewer in the first vehicle to reach to the viewer in the sub-continent.
"We will have investment in human capital. We will also get legends like Raul (Raul Gonzalez Blanco), Puyol (Carles Puyol), Luis Figo and more to play match of legends and can also fly teams here to have exhibition matches," said Tebas.
The third and most important area where La Liga is planning investments in India is at the grassroots level.
"We want to reach out to the underprivileged young people," he said, while refusing to put a number to the quantum of investments. "It is difficult to quantify the investments at this time, but depending on the acceptance and success of these initiatives, we will figure it," he said.
La Liga has already changed the kickoff times of the matches in order to reach out to more viewers in the Asian markets like India, China and other strategic markets. Starting July 2, it also launched one more kickoff time at 1 pm (4.30 pm India time).
The change in the kickoff times has helped both, viewership as well as value of the telecast rights, to go up, claims Tebas.
"Since the change in the kickoff times, our revenue from the telecast rights from international markets, outside of Spain, has tripled, while in terms of audiences, the viewership has more than doubled in the last three years."
"It is an interesting move considering the popularity of Barcelona and Real Madrid in India," said Indranil Das Blah, partner at sports and celebrity management firm CAA KWAN.
"The on-ground presence will open a lot more avenues for the league. It also shows their intent for investing in the country and not just looking for a quick buck."
Blah added that like NBA, which is in India for over five years, it will be imperative for La Liga to invest in building the sport. "It can't just be a commercial outfit," he added.
Meanwhile, Tebas also brushed off any concerns arising from Brexit on the Spanish league. "Brexit will not have any impact on La Liga. Players (from Bretain) will continue to play. We have players from Turkey as well as Russia playing for our clubs."
When asked whether there will be any uncertainty over clubs like Barcelona, given the Catalonia countries demanding independence, he added, "I don't see Catalonia countries leaving Spain for multiple legal reasons. But, if they do, Barcelona and other Catalan clubs such as Espanyol (Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona) will not be able to play in la Liga as per the Spanish law."
He noted that the only foreign club which can participate in a Spanish competition, as per the Spanish law, can be from Andorra.
Tebas added that over the years, the financial situation of the clubs of the league has improved compared to three years ago. "Due to the centralisation of the rights in Spain, the distribution of the media rights revenue of La Liga spreads out much more equal than in the past.
It is helping the second tier clubs to sign good players and get more competitive." Coming back to India, Tebas said that while it is not a very big market in terms of financial potential today, it will change in the next five years.
Spanish football league La Liga bets big on India, plans to take game to grassroots - The Economic Times on Mobile
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