LaLiga shares knowledge with representatives from Nigerian league

LaLiga continues to take firm strides in its internationalisation and the expansion of its brand. Furthermore, after several years of exponential growth, the LaLiga model has attracted the attention of other leagues across the world. On this note, following the recent opening of LaLiga's office in Nigeria, the organisation's second such base in Africa, and ahead of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) All-Star squad's participation in the Ramon de Carranza Trophy, representatives from the NPFL and its clubs were treated to a workshop by LaLiga directors in Jerez on Thursday evening. 

Antonio Barradas, LaLiga's country manager for South Africa, kicked off proceedings in an event that also featured involvement from Vicente Casado, LaLiga's managing director of international development; Ignacio Martinez Trujillo, the managing director of innovation and global development; Melcior Soler, the director of the organisation's audiovisual department; and Luis Garcia, a LaLiga financial control analyst. Meanwhile, the Nigerian expedition was headed by Shehu Dikko, the chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), and consisted of numerous representatives from this governing body, in addition to club officials. 

"It's taken many years for LaLiga to get where it is today and that's why we've now got to work to help other leagues, like the Nigerian one, that want to follow in our footsteps," said Antonio Barradas during his introduction. Luis Garcia, for his part, offered an overview of the financial control mechanisms through which LaLiga and its clubs have achieved unprecedented stability compared to years past, while positioning the league as the best in the world. On this subject, Antonio Barradas added that, "LaLiga has managed to slash debts to historic lows in three years. The system implemented is a win-win for all concerned: the clubs, the government, LaLiga, everyone." 

The NPFL representatives were particularly interested in the new model which sees broadcasting rights sold collectively, thanks to which Spanish clubs' profits have shot up."Selling rights individually means that there is no solidarity between clubs, with the relegated ones being a prime example, because they don’t get any income, and this causes an uneven playing field. With centralised sales, profits from television rights have been doubled in one season. This is a way of optimising profitability and solving the problem surrounding clubs' debts," explained Melcior Soler, who added that "centralising the sale of television rights has also allowed us to improve the broadcasting of matches in general. LaLiga isn’t just looking for different ways of broadcasting the action on television, but to enrich the experience through the view of the pitch, the lighting, packed terraces…" 

Ignacio Martinez Trujillo spoke about another of the facets that has made LaLiga a benchmark for the rest of the world – innovation. "Our product is football, the most popular form of entertainment in the world. And we have managed to understand what the fans want, and carry this out. Innovating has allowed us to grow more quickly," he noted. 

To round off the event, Vicente Casado of LaLiga and Shehu Dikko of the LMC gave their thoughts on the new partnership between LaLiga and the Nigerian league. "We want to grow together, and both of us can learn alongside each other so that we grow even more. Nigerian football is doing very well at present, and we want to help you grow on the international stage, like we, Spain, have done so," Casado stated. 

"We have decided to work with LaLiga and not with just any league, because it used to be in the place we ourselves were in, with its fair share of problems. In a few years it has shown that, through good management, not just in a footballing sense but also in a financial sense, you can grow quickly on all international fronts. We also want to be like LaLiga in regards to the sale of television rights, because LaLiga has shown that the joint selling of rights benefits all. We are very happy to be able to learn more because it’s the road we need to go down in order to carry on growing and making our league better. When we head home, we need to develop our league as brilliantly as LaLiga has," Shehu Dikko stated during his speech, which concluded the meeting.