Javier Tebas: "In terms of sporting competitiveness we are the best league in the world."

In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, LaLiga President Javier Tebas explained how the Spanish football league has changed by slashing club debts, expanding the league’s global reach and working on new ways of financing teams.

"The global slowdown affected Spain much more than other countries, as the financial crisis was greater here than elsewhere. What we did is what many Spanish businesses did: go abroad. We began favouring schedules in which people from other countries would be able to watch the Spanish League games," he said. "The amount we owed to the Spanish state has dwindled from €700 million to €250 million in just three years…now that the crisis is ending, we are coming out the stronger for it. Spanish football right now is much more financially robust than in 2009."

Tebas said the Spanish league had needed a new impetus. "We needed to change the view that LaLiga was a mere organiser of competitions, and start seeing it as an ideal springboard for club growth," he said. "We developed a strategic plan based on three core issues: buttressing our finances in the face of a terrible crisis; ensuring that our product, the football games, would not be affected by match-fixing or even the suspicion of such a possibility; and internationalisation. Those were the keys to remaining competitive. Overall there has been a cultural change that almost everyone has embraced in our quest to move from a sports organisation to a fully-fledged industry. I think that we are now an industry, and that the clubs understand."

Establishing centralised control for the sale of broadcasting rights was one of the principal changes that Tebas has enacted. "The government’s royal decree of April 2015 regulating the centralised sale of broadcasting rights helped us a lot. We are already putting in the work and the strategy, and in just a few months we’ve gone from making €600 million from broadcasting rights to making €1 billion," he said. 

Tebas was envious of the English Premier League’s business model, but insisted LaLiga more than matched them in terms of sporting quality. "When the Ballon d’Or was selected, among the top 11 players in the world there were none from the Premier League. So why are they the top industry? Because they have worked hard on their brand. The Premier League itself is above its own players and managers. In this, it has managed to do something that we ourselves aspire to...they have a 10-year head start.

"Our sporting competitiveness (defines LaLiga)," he added. I’m not just talking about Barcelona and Real Madrid, but also about the other clubs, which have fewer resources yet are always very competitive at European games. That is our DNA, and that is what is enabling us to grow as a brand. I truly believe we have the best leaders in the world, and that is resulting in the best players and the best sporting directors. In terms of this sporting competitiveness, there is no question that we are the best league in the world."

Full Interview: here