LaLiga plans Asia domination

SINGAPORE – Better late than never.

That is the bullish attitude of LaLiga president Javier Tebas Medrano, who is aiming to boost the popularity of Spanish football in Asia.

The 54-year-old was present on Thursday morning (Mar 23) at the opening of LaLiga’s official Singapore office, which will be the league’s fourth Asian office after Dubai, China and India.

The office will house a dedicated set of resources to execute its proposed projects in the region, where the goal is to expand its presence through growing LaLiga’s popularity, particularly in South-east Asia.

While the English Premier League is an established and traditional presence in this part of the world, and the Bundesliga has started to make inroads in recent years, including opening an office in Singapore in 2012, Tebas is confident that LaLiga can rival them.

He cited examples of the league’s superiority, like how the last three UEFA Champions League and Europa League titles have been won by Spanish teams, and that nine of the 11 players named in FIFA FIFPro’s team of the year for 2016 ply their trade in Spain’s top flight.

“Yes, we should have come earlier, so we are sorry for being late!” he said with a chuckled, as he spoke to the media through a translator during the event at the National Gallery.

“That’s why we are here now. Of course (we can catch up in terms of popularity), otherwise I wouldn’t be here.

“We have the best teams and players in the world and we have already designed a strategy to do so.”

This includes investing “significant” time and resources to popularise LaLiga in Asia following a “multi-dimensional” approach using exhibition matches, player visits and development programmes at the grassroots level.

Other initiatives include bringing forward local kick-off times – Spain is seven hours behind Singapore – to make it more palatable for viewers here to catch matches, as well as an official partnership with Microsoft that will help bring the league closer to its 1.6 billion worldwide followers through social media channels.

“We will be listening to our supporters on our social networks so that we can respond to them according to what they want to hear and know,” Tebas explained.

“We want to build (football) schools to find talent, to open restaurants and cafeterias where supporters can meet and talk about Spanish football, to be close to the press and journalists here, and also to social projects in Singapore and this part of Asia.

“We want to be close to our fans in this part of the world.”

Tebas cited Singapore’s strategic position, both geographically and as a financial hub, as key reasons for LaLiga to establish its office here.

“Singapore is also important because we are tied to Valencia CF, who are owned by Singaporean businessman, Peter Lim,” he added.

“It is going to be the gate that we will (to reach out) to the rest of Asia.”

LaLiga ambassadors Fernando Morientes, of Real Madrid and Liverpool fame, Fernando Sanz, who played for Real and Malaga, and Carolina Marin, the reigning Olympic badminton champion, were in attendance at the launch.

Morientes and Sanz both took part in a mini five-a-side exhibition match with LaLiga fans at the Padang after the launch.

When asked whether more players and teams can be expected to grace Singapore in future, Tebas smiled and said:“Of course, certainly!”