LaLiga Institutional
LaLiga with sport
LaLiga is a global, innovative and socially responsible organisation, a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 clubs and SADs (public limited sports companies) in LaLiga Santander and the 22 in LaLiga SmartBank, responsible for the organisation of these national professional football competitions.
With headquarters in Madrid (Spain), it is present in 55 countries through its 11 offices and 46 delegates.
In the 2018/2019 season, LaLiga reached more than 2.7 billion people globally.
The association carries out its social action through its Foundation and is the world's first pro essional football league with a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.
Since 2013 and Javier Tebas's appointment as president, LaLiga has embarked on a journey of growth and constant evolution based on financial controls, the centralised sale of audiovisual rights and a strategy of internationalisation and technological leadership. All of this has made the institution a role model within the sector and one of the best professional leagues within the world of sport, which is serving to attract the interest of new generations.
In 2013, the debts held by the LaLiga clubs and SADs with the Spanish tax authorities (Hacienda) stood at €650 million and, two years prior to this, the number of complaints brought by players over non-payment of wages amounted to 341 and involved a total of €84m.
The impact that the financial controls have had on the LaLiga clubs and SADs can be summarised as follows:
All of this makes LaLiga more solvent, attractive and stronger, with this growth reflected in player salaries, which serves to improve the competitive level across the competition.
LaLiga is responsible for the joint marketing of the audiovisual rights on behalf of the LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs and SADs.
The audiovisual rights, which are valued at over €2.1 billion per season in the current audiovisual cycle, represent the clubs' main source of revenue, exceeding 60% of revenue for the majority of clubs.
The Royal Decree-Law 5/2015 establishes the criteria for the distribution of broadcasting revenue obtained from the joint exploitation and marketing of the audiovisual rights.
Comercializados del fútbol profesional español (Mn€)
(*) El mercado internacional no se negocia por trienios, pero se opta por presentarlo con esta periodicidad para adecuarlo al del mercado nacional y favorecer la comparabilidad entre ciclos.
(**) Ingresos brutos comercializados (no se corresponde con los ingresos netos percibidos por los Clubes o SADs, al tenerque descontar los gastos de producción correspondientes según la legislación vigente).
No incluye cantidades repartidas por la UEFA (“market pool” audiovisual, dentro de Ingresos por Retransmisión, u otras distribuciones realizadas por el organismo que se encuentran incluidas dentro del epígrafe de ingresos por Matchday).
A efectos de comparabilidad, se han eliminado en el cómputo del Primer Ciclo / de los años anteriores a RDL 5/2015) los derechos por la comercialización de la Copa del Rey (aprox. 65 Mn€ brutos por temporada), que en segundo ciclo que en segundo ciclo que comienza en la temporada en curso (T19-20) realiza directamente la Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF).
Foreign interest in the Spanish game has grown exponentially in recent years. LaLiga works on a daily basis to promote Spanish football beyond the country's borders, with the objective of creating a community of fans throughout the world.
LaLiga's global expansion is underpinned by the following three cornerstones: its international offices, the network of LaLiga Global Network delegates and the joint ventures it is working on in different areas of the world.
LaLiga's international offices are located in:
Meanwhile, the 45 LaLiga Global Network delegates are based in destinations across the five continents.
LaLiga is actively engaged in two strategic joint-venture partnerships:
LaLiga's internationalisation efforts saw the institution named the Honorary Ambassador of Brand Spain in the international relations category in 2019, "on account of its contribution to offering a positive image of Spain across the world through football" and "assisting the internationalisation of both Spanish companies and athletes."
Innovation and technology currently represent one of the cornerstones of LaLiga's medium- and long-term growth.
The clubs' association boasts a digital ecosystem that combines channels, services and data. The combination of these elements provides LaLiga with a complete overview, which the organisation uses to improve its audiovisual product for the benefit of supporters, sponsors, broadcasters and, of course, the clubs.
The field of Business Intelligence & Analytics has represented the backbone of LaLiga's innovation through a transformative process that has seen the organisation evolve towards a much more data-driven approach. The aim is to centralise, organise, prepare and provide all of the necessary information so that decision-making is based on data and can be carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible.
LaLigaSportsTV is an over-the-top (OTT) media platform which enables LaLiga to remain at the forefront of technology within the audiovisual sector and innovate to allow fans to enjoy all sporting disciplines.
The platform offers free coverage of live and pre-recorded content, reports and interviews relating to the main competitions run by Spanish federations and leagues. This allows LaLiga to offer greater visibility and exposure of other sporting disciplines that are not covered by the traditional channels and whose content is disseminated in a very limited way amongst fans.
This project has seen LaLiga achieve growth by building bridges with other sports and sharing the knowledge gained in recent years in the football industry, whilst also promoting the Spanish sporting brand.
LaLiga's technology and innovation development has led to the creation of a series of tools and applications that assist with decision-making, as well as help carry out daily tasks.
The following are examples of the proprietary tools developed by LaLiga:
One of LaLiga's priorities is the fight against sporting corruption and the promotion of good practice within the game. The institution works on the following aspects in this field:
Talks are delivered to all players and professionals at the LaLiga clubs, including the reserve teams, about integrity and the legal and administrative consequences of any possible involvement in match-fixing.
Football matches across Spanish football are monitored on a 24/7 basis. LaLiga has developed Tyche 3.0, software that monitors and analyses global betting activity relating to Spanish football, for this purpose. The program uses machine learning algorithms to enable possible cases of match-fixing to be identified more quickly and in a more objective and effective manner.
LaLiga is a member of the National Commission against the manipulation of sporting competitions and betting-related fraud, a body where it is joined by the following organisations: the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gaming, the National Police, the Civil Guard, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and online gaming operators.
Another of LaLiga's main objectives concerns the battle against violence in and around football stadiums.
To achieve this objective, LaLiga coordinates and collaborates with those responsible for security within the clubs and is a member of the National Commission against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport and works very closely with the National Sports Office and the State Law Enforcement Agencies.
LaLiga submits a weekly report to the RFEF's Competition Committee and the Anti-violence Committee with information regarding chants heard during matches that incite violence or feature content that is insulting or displays an attitude of intolerance.
In a show of responsibility, LaLiga safeguards its product through the efforts of its technological protection of content department, which employs around 20 experts. This department uses internally developed tools that help to combat piracy, such as Marauder, Lumière, Black Hole and Neko. LaLiga shares its know-how in this field with other organisations, including Dorna Sports, Belgium's Jupiler Pro League and the Spanish government's Ministry of Culture.
LaLiga is aware of the impact and influence that football has within society and, as such, pursues a strategic aim that sees the organisation lead ethical, social and environmental initiatives under the umbrella of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
LaLiga carries out its social outreach work through its Foundation, which was founded in 1993 and is a pioneer in the world of professional football. The LaLiga FOUNDATION's projects pursue the objective of transforming society through positive footballing values, such as integrity, hard work, self-improvement, collaboration and teamwork.
The LaLiga FOUNDATION's activities can be divided up into the following three main categories:
Amongst the various projects led by the LaLiga FOUNDATION, the following are of particular note:
In October 2015, LaLiga decided to become actively involved in promoting and developing the female game and opened a women's football department to lead, along with the clubs, several strategies and initiatives targeted at enhancing and professionalising the competition, generating value, maximising visibility and promoting the international growth of its clubs and players.
The LaLiga Business School, founded and run by LaLiga in conjunction with the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, is a project that galvanizes LaLiga's commitment to education and which aims to train talent with a view to professionalising the sports industry.
The school's three programmes, taught by LaLiga professionals, representatives from its member clubs and industry experts are as follows: Global Sports Marketing; Law Applied to Professional Football; and Management, Methodology and Analysis in Football. The school also offers various specialist courses, both in Spain and other countries throughout the world.
This project, which is led and driven by LaLiga along with Santander Bank and AGM, involves a comprehensive support programme aimed at youth players from the LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs, each of which nominates a player, to help them to secure scholarships to attend US universities, where they are able to pursue their football careers alongside their academic studies.
Since 2016, LaLiga has supported 64 sports federations and 4,200 elite athletes, not only financially, but also by offering them the use of LaLiga's infrastructure with a view to improving the visibility and development of the Spanish sports industry.
LaLiga offers its experience as well as its financial and human resources to Spanish sport to enhance the work being carried out in the field, but also in an effort to improve knowledge and spheres of activity that allow for sport to establish itself as one of the best communication vehicles available to brands.
In addition to its real-life football competition, in the 2017/18 season, LaLiga decided to enter the world of e-Sports.
The 2019/20 edition of eLaLiga Santander, the official EA SPORTS TM FIFA 20 Global Series competition in Spain, involved the participation of 34 LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs.
LaLiga has also developed a number of apps and virtual games: