The arrival of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in late 2022 ensured the Middle East would fall under the global football spotlight like never before, for one month at least.
However, a couple of months before the start of the tournament, an agreement was struck to give LaLiga, which operates Spain’s top-flight football competition, a significant long-lasting presence in the region.
In September, LaLiga and Dubai-based media multi-national Galaxy Racer penned a letter of intent, paving the way for a 15-year joint venture to be established on a 50:50 basis.
Through the agreement, which builds on an existing collaboration between the two organisations, LaLiga’s existing brand presence will be expanded and deepened in the Middle East, as well as North Africa to the west and the Indian subcontinent to the east.
Whilst LaLiga has taken big steps to enhance its international profile across the globe in recent years, MENA has always been a region of special interest that offers unique potential. That is why the league opened its first international office in Dubai back in 2014 before strengthening its presence in the region through its Global Network international development initiative in 2017.
Furthermore, glancing at the demographic landscape of this densely populated part of the world shows why such efforts have been made to establish solid foundations in the region. Collectively, MENA and the Indian subcontinent are home to more than 1.3 billion people under the age of 30, giving LaLiga an opportunity to enhance its already substantial efforts to engage younger audiences worldwide.
Major milestone
The joint venture will be based in the United Arab Emirates and led by Maite Ventura, LaLiga’s managing director for the Middle East and North Africa, who describes the collaboration as a “major milestone in our international expansion strategy”.
She adds: “This agreement ensures not only a bright future for football in MENA and the Indian subcontinent, but also for LaLiga and our clubs.”
LaLiga believes the joint venture to supercharge the league’s efforts to speak to younger audiences in a meaningful manner. The channels for such engagement will include bespoke content creation and a crossover focus on gaming and esports, as well as new consumer products – from apparel to collectibles. A wide range of activations that LaLiga insists will usher in “a new way of thinking for the world of football and sport” are also being developed.
According to Paul Roy, Galaxy Racer’s founder and chairman, LaLiga’s potential “remains untapped amongst millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha in the MENA region and Indian subcontinent”.
With more than 600 million followers globally, Galaxy Racer, which was founded in 2019, offers a platform for growth that leverages expertise in six key verticals: licensing, content creation, esports, influencer and talent management, merchandising and music.
“The goal here is to connect with a younger audience in a way that resonates with them,” Roy says. “Through our current market reach, this strategic partnership will give LaLiga a cutting-edge means of distributing its intellectual property.
“Our strategy is focused on the football fans of tomorrow. Given the audience demographics in the region, an entire generation of new fans will be coming online over the next decade. We will ensure that we are first and foremost on the minds of this audience as they embrace the world of football.”
The joint venture will also act as LaLiga’s media-rights agency for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Indian subcontinent, starting with the cycle beginning in the 2024-25 season. However, Ventura, insists that the income derived from media rights will only be part of a “360-degree strategy”, with merchandise, clinics, academies, and much more in the pipeline.
Natural step
Having lived and worked in Dubai for the past eight years and seen the impact of earlier collaborations between LaLiga and Galaxy Racer, Ventura says that taking the relationship to the next level was a natural step.
Galaxy Racer initially linked up with LaLiga at the start of 2021, with a partnership focusing on the eLaliga Santander Fan Cup esports competition. The tournament was shown exclusively by Galaxy Racer in Arabic across all its social media platforms.
Esports provided a solid platform from which to build the broader relationship. According to the most recently available figures, there are 377 million gamers in the MENA region – almost as many as the whole of Europe – and it is widely considered to be the number-one growth market for gaming and esports worldwide.
“We had been working with them for nearly two years, particularly with projects in gaming and esports, and then we started to discuss other projects. We ultimately saw some potential with a broader collaboration and decided to create a joint venture,” Ventura explains.
“We already have 11 people on the ground in this region, and they are core to our growth strategy, as a physical presence allows us to be closer to the stakeholders, as well as the fans. Other clubs and institutions may not be on the ground, so that is our competitive advantage and it allows us to adapt to trends more quickly and easily.
“This joint venture presents an amazing opportunity to build on this presence by leveraging additional resources to help us maximise the offering and diversify our fan base, not just with younger people, but also women.”
Cultural nuances
Ventura started her current role as managing director for MENA at LaLiga in 2019, after having initially joined LaLiga as a delegate within its Global Network, which has now sprawled to include a physical presence in 41 countries worldwide.
In total, LaLiga’s international engagement efforts span 90 countries, with joint ventures set up in the United States and China, as well as now MENA and the Indian subcontinent.
Before joining LaLiga, Ventura worked in Dubai for the Trade and Investment Office of Peru after operating in business development in roles in Colombia, Panama and then the United Arab Emirates following her work as a journalist in Spain and the United States. Her earlier studies took her to the United Kingdom, as well as her native Spain.
With a career background steeped in travelling to and working in different cultures, Ventura is well aware of the importance of understanding local people and cultures. This approach will also be required to tap into the various markets that span the diverse region covered by the joint venture.
“I think one of the strengths of the Global Network is that it bring together people who can offer lots of different perspectives,” she adds.
Content is king
With this in mind, the new joint venture will ultimately be supported by a team of around 20 people, led by a five-person board of directors, including Ventura as chief executive. Luis Cardenas, commercial director for LaLiga MENA, will serve as the chief commercial officer.
Several LaLiga and Galaxy Racer collaborations are already in the works, including a documentary series, tournaments, merchandise, physical events and other activations.
With a roster of 100 digital influencers – including a significant number established in MENA and South Asia – Galaxy Racer also provides a clear gateway to a large audience. Worldwide, the company’s influencers generate over 2.5 billion monthly views.
“A team of leading influencers and content producers will focus on LaLiga and organise creative events to enhance the LaLiga brand all year long,” Roy says.
Leveraging influencers builds on existing work by LaLiga to introduce younger viewers to the pinnacle of Spanish football through platforms like gamer-focused streaming platform Twitch and social platform TikTok.
Tailored content
As an extension to this strategy of investing in people to build a launchpad for growth, LaLiga is conscious that teaming up with the right individuals can help a narrative to be carried far more effectively than a disconnected marketing campaign devised thousands of miles away.
“Human resources are an amazing tool to accelerate growth,” Ventura adds. “We are specifically looking at ways we can increase engagement when it is not a matchday. That is where the right content will be vital.”
Extending the fan experience beyond the 90 minutes of the game is a challenge facing every single club, stadium operator and competition operator in ‘the beautiful game’.
In that context, and given the competition for attention that exists across sport and entertainment, Ventura is well aware that tailored content will be key if fruitful engagement channels are to be established.
“We need to speak to people in their own languages, and not just by translating the same words,” she says. “We must create content that is relevant to people, whether that is through TV series, social media, video footage, music, or something else.”
A new content studio, which will open in an as-yet undisclosed MENA country and be operated by the joint venture, will provide a central hub for content creation. The studio is expected to open in the next six to 12 months and will produce content that, according to Roy, will cater to younger fans’ preference for alternative media sources.
However, bricks-and-mortar developments are also on the agenda, with LaLiga TwentyNine’s fan experience space in Qatar providing a glimpse of future possibilities.
With a panoramic view of the West Bay business district in Doha, the LaLiga TwentyNine’s venue features a gastro zone, a ‘beat centre’ – packed full of club memorabilia, a multi-purpose stand that allows visitors to feel like they are watching games in a stadium, an esports space, and a virtual reality experience.
“It is a gastronomic sports hub with amazing food courtesy of a renowned head chef, Dani García, but it offers so much more for the fan experience,” Ventura says. “Qatar is very important for us, and obviously we have been on the ground there during the FIFA World Cup, and we are delighted to have the LaLiga TwentyNine’s space in Doha. We want to be close to our fans, wherever they are.”
Evaluating success
When asked about how the success of the new joint venture will be evaluated, Ventura insists that engagement, as well as financial metrics, will be an important barometer.
“For us, success would be seeing more younger people playing and enjoying the game, and we really want to tap into the hearts and minds of millennials and Gen Z,” Ventura says. “With Galaxy Racer’s support and expertise, we will be able to build fan loyalty and truly position LaLiga as a top-of-mind brand, not just for football, but also lifestyle.”
If the content is engaging, financial rewards will follow – and in the context of LaLiga’s broader international development plans, MENA and the Indian subcontinent offer significant opportunities.
The collaboration with Galaxy Racer, though, will stretch way into the 2030s – and potentially beyond.
Explaining the 15-year term on the joint venture, Ventura adds that an extension to the collaboration could be likely, depending on the landscape.
“It is the right period of time for a long-term project,” she says, adding that such multi-year business plans are commonplace across LaLiga’s international operations. “We don’t know what is going to happen in 15 years’ time, but we like to be surrounded by the best partners available. So, if the strategy is working, why wouldn’t we continue?”