Nota de Prensa
SÁB 22.10.2016
Saturday 22 October, saw the unveiling in Shanghai of LaLiga Club, the organisation's first official fan club in China. A spectacular launch event was held in the city's port and was attended by LaLiga's president, Javier Tebas; MENA office manager and director of international projects, Fernando Sanz; ambassadors Fernando Morientes and Michel Salgado; and country manager for China, Sergi Torrents and Jaume Roures of MEDIAPRO. Also in attendance were Steve Lau and Kathy Zhou, respectively the managing director and general manager of ACTIVATION GROUP, LaLiga's partner for this project.
Styled as LaLiga's first experiential centre, LaLiga Club aims to make the most of new technology to serve up a range of novel, immersive experiences and activities in order to bring Spanish football closer to the competition's China-based fans. It will feature both physical and virtual offerings, with the former including an interactive gaming area, a museum and a training school. The concept of sportainment – a blend of sport and entertainment – will come to the fore with a view to promoting LaLiga in the country, to which end a football-based TV drama and reality show will also be rolled out.
"Today is a great day. We announce the launch of LaLiga Club, a 360-degree platform that will give you, our fans, the chance to experience everything LaLiga is all about at close quarters," said LaLiga president Javier Tebas during the kick-off event. "Here at LaLiga we have a firm commitment to helping the development of football in China and to the values that the game embodies, including teamwork, respect and discipline. What's more, we have developed educational programmes in conjunction with the Chinese Ministry of Education through which we have imparted training to more than 45,000 children at public schools in the country," he added.
Fernando Sanz, meanwhile, cited the LaLiga Club project as the latest example of LaLiga's ongoing internationalisation, stating that he felt "fortunate to have been involved" in this process for the last four years or so. "There has been a huge difference in the numbers in this period: when we started out some 800 million people followed Spanish football, whereas now that figure stands at 2.1 billion. The popularity of the Spanish game knows no bounds and there are whole cities that come to a standstill when LaLiga games are played. For example, today, despite the bad weather, a big crowd has congregated for this event," he went on. Rounding off his remarks, LaLiga's MENA office manager and director of international projects stressed that, "We've got to be well aware that we're living in a highly globalised world and so we have to be present everywhere and showcase our football, our clubs and our players to retain our status as the best league on the planet."
For his part, Michel Salgado described the event as "very special" and called it "an honour" for himself and his fellow LaLiga ambassador Fernando Morientes to be in attendance. "Our job is to take LaLiga to every corner of the world and China is a massive market. Shanghai is a great city and I'm really happy to have the opportunity to be here. It's a pleasure to witness the passion of the Chinese fans," Salgado noted.
As part of the proceedings, Salgado, Morientes and Sanz teamed up with a group of local celebrities for a short match against Chinese footballers. Furthermore, the fans who had turned out – who included members of LaLiga outfits' own supporters' clubs in China – got to watch the thrilling clash between Valencia CF and FC Barcelona on giant screens.
One of the overarching ideas behind LaLiga Club is to promote Spanish football through a lifestyle approach, channelling creative, engaging digital content to boost LaLiga's presence in China and the competition's fan base in the country. Indeed, the various offerings will see the organisation branch out into new areas of the sport and entertainment industries.
Kathy Zhou, the general manager of ACTIVATION SPORTS, outlined the role the agency will be playing in the project: "LaLiga Club will be marketed through a range of initiatives in order to reach out to target audiences, from online and offline promotions to professional club operations. The combination of several factors will create a perfect LaLiga experience and atmosphere – a comprehensive sports offering that will appeal to the widest possible market."
© LALIGA - 2016