Javier Tebas: "Our challenge is to increase revenue to avoid losing talent"

LaLiga president Javier Tebas took part in a Europa Press Desayunos Deportivos (Sports Breakfasts) event on Thursday morning, delivering an address entitled Challenges in the Football Industry. Before getting started, the head of Spanish football's organising body thanked recently departed High Council for Sport (CSD) president Miguel Cardenal for his efforts in the post: "He never looked the other way and always did a great job for Spanish football."

Tebas focused his talk on how LaLiga can keep growing and bridging the financial gulf separating it from the Premier League: "The Premier League clubs' aggregate budget is around €6 billion, whereas the same figure for LaLiga is in the region of €3 bn. The Premier League spends some €1.6 bn more on wages than LaLiga," he noted, before cautioning that if this divide is not narrowed, "there is an increasing risk of our top talents leaving."

 

To avoid such a scenario, Tebas has been working at the helm of LaLiga with a clear vision in mind: "Our challenge is to increase revenue to avoid losing talent. We've got to work hard on that score over the next four years." He went on to underscore the fact that three clubs, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, currently account for 79% of the commercial revenues in LaLiga, and stressed the need to boost these income streams at other clubs: "Our most important task is to grow our brand image." "If we don't have nine million pay-TV subscribers in Spain by 2021, we won't be able to close the gap on the Premier League. On top of that, we need to be bringing in €400 million more from overseas rights by the 2020/21 season," he added.

On this note, LaLiga is currently working on several projects, some of which are already up and running, whilst others are set to be launched in the near future. Tebas highlighted two of these initiatives: "We've got the Microsoft Project, which uses a platform to identify the activity of all of the LaLiga fans around the globe, what they want and what their demands are. Meanwhile, we're also working on opening LaLiga offices in different corners of the world and then there's the LaLiga Global Network, an initiative which will see LaLiga represented in many different countries. The aim of the scheme is to build closer relationships with the broadcast rights-holders and the rest of the media in the countries in question, to identify the influencers in those markets and liaise with local federations and leagues. In a nutshell, it's all about bringing us closer to the communities in these countries. We're in no doubt that growth stems from promoting the brand."

In the question and answer session, Tebas continued to comment on the latest news from within the organisation and the Spanish game: "The clubs are aware of the reasoning behind the different kick-off times and accept them as being necessary; the numbers are there to back it up. Spectator figures have risen by two million and many of our stadiums are undergoing renovation work. Three years ago, we were talking about embargoes and debts. One element of the strategy that we're working on is the fight against piracy. One of the keys to increasing the number of subscribers is to put a stop to piracy. If we manage to stamp it out altogether, the television companies will pay us more."

Before the conclusion of the event, the LaLiga chief also discussed the situation regarding the LaLiga clubs and their debts, as well as the 0.5% of the broadcasting revenue which goes to the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE): "The clubs bring in more money than they owe. It's right that they should push close to their debt ceiling. That level of debt is good for their growth. With regards to the 0.5%, if there's no transparency or guidelines relating to sound governance and we don't know what use the money is being put to, we can't and shouldn't be handing it over. It's the clubs' will to pay this 0.5%, but we have to know where it's going."

Towards the end of his address, Tebas offered his views on the European Super League project: "Conversations are taking place behind the backs of the league organisations. People are taking advantage of UEFA's weakness. The problem with this sort of project is that it ends up having a negative impact on the rest of us." He rounded off with a firm response to a question as to whether this would be his final term in his current role, insisting: "As president of LaLiga, yes."