Jose Antonio Cachaza charts out LaLiga’s growth in India

LaLiga is a private sports association composed of the 20 public limited sports companies (SADs) and clubs of LaLiga Santander and the 22 of LaLiga SmartBank, and is responsible for organising professional football competitions in Spain. With its headquarters in Madrid (Spain), LaLiga is present in 41 countries through 11 offices and 44 delegates. The organisation carries out its social work through its Foundation and was the world’s first professional football league to establish a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.

In June 2023, LaLiga unveiled its all-new brand and strategic positioning under the slogan – ‘The Power of our Fútbol’. The launch reaffirmed the competition’s commitment to inspire and make a positive impact on society.

LaLiga has now launched the upcoming LALIGA EA Sports season, with LaLiga brand ambassador Rohit Sharma and broadcasting partner Viacom18.

In conversation with Adgully, Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LALIGA, speaks at length about LaLiga’s growth in India, viewership, sponsorships for this year, and more.

How do you see football as a sport growing and what differences have you observed in terms of viewership or in terms of interest of brands globally?

We need to understand that football is the only universal sport. Something that is always said is that FIFA has more members than the United Nations! So, of course, the realm of football can be a religious thing in Spain or Argentina, or in Britain. Digital is helping football grow in those territories where the game is not as relevant. India is a very good example and for LaLiga, it is the No. 1 market now. India still has to grow in terms of football, as cricket is still regarded as a religion here and dominates 90% of the market.

However, we have observed an increase in consumption of football in India. While it will take decades for football to catch up with cricket in India, it is definitely growing in this market.

We have three sponsors – a global brand BKT Tyres and two local brand Dream 11 and Hero Wired.

Could you tell us about some other ongoing initiatives this year to make LaLiga and football more engaging?

We have quite a few initiatives. We have this tournament with people with mentally disabilities; then we have the LaLiga Foundation, which works with different projects. For example, one with refugees in Jordan, here in India we support projects that rural development trusts are doing in Anantapur. We support causes that fight against racism, something that hits us and makes us react. An important part of our job is to give something back to the society.

What are you marketing strategies for this year?

It is pretty much a continuation of the same. We work closely with the broadcaster, keep updating our digital and social media presence, we are coming up with new apps, new wins. An important part of our initiatives is aimed at getting closer to the younger generation of fans.

How do you view LaLiga’s growth particularly in India and what are the expectations in terms of viewership, etc.?

In terms of viewership, we have seen quite a big increase. We are growing without broadcasters as well. Last year, we started by being available only on MTV and JioCinema. Now, we are aired on Sports18 channel, so the growth is clear now and in double digits. We are also strengthening our social media numbers. We recently reached 7.5 million followers on Instagram and Facebook in India, so we keep growing there.