Be it the intense rivalry between Barcelona or Real Madrid, the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo battles or Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid upsetting the apple cart, La Liga has risen in prominence around the world in recent years with the league witnessing some high-quality footballing action.
One such place has been India where the Spanish domestic league’s fanbase has grown exponentially over the last decade. The effort towards the same has risen in the last five years as La Liga inaugurated an office in India in 2016.
One man who has it all is the Managing Director of LaLiga India- Jose Antonio Cachaza. In an exclusive chat with timesnownews.com on the sidelines of the second edition of ‘La Liga Extra time India’ held in Mumbai on Tuesday (April 5), Cachaza discussed his five-year journey in India, the challenges faced on the way, La Liga’s partnership with Rohit Sharma, the departure of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the importance of women football and much more.
Excerpts from the interview:
What made the Indian market attractive to La Liga?
The Indian market is an interesting market for any corporation in many industries. In terms of sports, it’s a big market, it’s a growing market. It’s a market with a strong future ahead. We will always say India for us is a future investment rather than the present. You can compare kind of business coming from India to our biggest markets like the USA, China, the Middle East, Africa; we are nowhere close but it’s a place where we have to be there.
How has your experience been over the last 5 years in India and how different has it been from your expectations?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect (laughs!). It’s been a sort of take it as it comes approach. Basically, our number one approach which is the foundation for everything else is to keep growing our fanbase. All the parameters that we can use for it like television audience, broadcast audience, digital growth- in that sense things have been going in the right direction. Our following in digital has been growing, our interaction with fanbase has been stable and broadcast figures are also positive. We always see constant improvement. Things so far have been going in the right direction. We are kind of happy and have been well received by Indian fans.
You have the Indian Cricket team captain Rohit Sharma as the brand ambassador, can you tell us the thinking behind that decision?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: One good thing about sport is that you can love several sports. In India, cricket is king and football is a spiraling second. In India, cricket concentrates 85% of the market. To have a person like Rohit as a brand ambassador; who number one is a joy to work with because of his personality and is a really sweet person. He is also a football fan and a Real Madrid fan, so it was the perfect fit for us. It is a way to give a message to cricket fans to give us a chance and a way to increase our market reach.
Earlier you said when La Liga started its internationalisation, it was 25 years behind the English Premier League, where do you think it stands now and do you think the gap can be closed?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: We have been closing the gap, we have been more aggressive in our international strategy. Also, we are in a solid number two position. We are further away from the other three big leagues in Europe-Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 but we have to be careful; look at Serie A as 25 years ago they were the number one. That requires us to work on our product all the time, that’s why we are launching the La Liga boost program- which will provide a strong financial support for our clubs.
La Liga has always had the advantage of having the most popular clubs in the world- Barcelona and Real Madrid. Till a few years back both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi played in the league but both have left and both clubs are going through a transition- Has it been challenging to promote the league in such a period especially with the pandemic also hitting during this time?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: Of course it is challenging, if you look at Barcelona’s results in the first half of the season, it was disheartening for Barcelona fans more than even Lionel Messi leaving. Any transition is difficult especially when you lose two figures who are game-changers, they are not easy to substitute. Maybe in a long time, we will not have strong competition between two players like these guys. In terms of business after they left, the value of our international sponsorship deals has kept growing.
Of course, both clubs are in transition, maybe in three years we will be talking about competition between Ansu Fati and Pedri, we do not know. Maybe these clubs will require time to be clear contenders for Champions League again but Real Madrid can win it this season. Also don’t forget Atletico Madrid, under Simeone they have already played two finals and they can do it again this season.
In 2018, Girona came to India for pre-season, is there more scope of the same happening?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: This year it won’t be possible either because of the World Cup dates and all that but we were in talks with Indian promoters before the pandemic exploded and we want to go back to those talks. It is top of our priority to keep working in that direction. When it can happen? It is not easy as not many dates are available.
The City football group are in India through Mumbai City FC, do you think there is scope of such partnerships between Spanish and Indian clubs?
Jose Antonio Cachaza: It is possible but it is not easy and at the end its equity, integration, and who gets control. In the case of the City group, they took majority control of Mumbai City. It’s possible and I know for sure they are European clubs who are interested in exploring this.
Last week the women El Classico (Barcelona vs Real Madrid) had a record crowd of more than 91000 at Nou Camp, do you think there is scope for Women’s football to flourish in the Indian market?
Jose Antonio Cachaza We have to keep investing in the promotion of women’s football, that is the number one goal. Big teams are investing in women’s squads, that is the first step for women’s football to become a strong business in itself. In terms of competition, look at India, as of today the women’s team is closer to playing the World Cup than the Men’s team, it can be strong message to Indian football. Women’s football has an important secondary effect which is to help the integration of women which is a problem in many places.
