LaLiga Santander has created a history yesterday (Wednesday). The top-flight professional football league in Spain has become the first European sports league to ring the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opening bell.
LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, and the country head of Banco Santander in Spain, Rami Aboukhair, rang the opening bell during the digital ceremony yesterday morning.
The NYSE bell ringing was carried out remotely due to COVID. The ceremony featured images of the crests of all of the LaLiga clubs. LaLiga’s involvement, which was secured thanks to Banco Santander, underscores the organization’s social, sporting and financial status on a global scale.
The honour represents LaLiga’s strategic international expansion efforts following the launch of LaLiga North America, the joint venture between LaLiga and Relevent Sports Group, two years ago. LaLiga North America has developed a regional strategy bringing LaLiga and its clubs closer to its fans, establishing partnerships and new revenue opportunities, and positioning itself as a leader in a growing foreign competition in the United States.
“We’re delighted to have taken part in the virtual Wall Street bell ringing. The financial markets are Banco Santander’s usual playing field and today sees us joined by LaLiga Santander, a competition which is about more than just football. It accounts for 1.4% of Spain’s GDP and creates almost 200,000 jobs across the country. In short, it helps society to progress. And besides the business aspect, it’s all about passion, entertainment and values, such as sacrifice, effort and teamwork, that we identify strongly with,” commented Aboukhair.
“It’s a source of pride for LaLiga and its clubs to virtually take part in the Wall Street bell ringing alongside our main sponsors, Banco Santander, in an event that once again highlights LaLiga’s social standing, its internationalisation and contribution towards the Spain brand and the country’s economy,” declared Tebas.
In addition to the symbolic and traditional ceremony, the ringing of the NYSE bell, in the words of the financial institution, “is critical to the orderly functioning of the marketplace, assuring that no trades take place before the opening or after the close.”