LaLiga, one of the most followed European football leagues in the world, is currently celebrating its fifth anniversary since establishing local presence in India and the league has now claimed that it has registered a 2000 percent increase in social audience in the last five years.
“The bid to increase accessibility for local fans has also led to numerous other success stories in these five years, including a 2000% increase in social audience, establishment of several grassroots development initiatives that have impacted more than 20,000 youth in the country, creation of strong relationships with local partners and strengthening ties with Indian fans,” it said in a statment.
Notably, LaLiga has had a fan base in India since a couple decades, owing to the passionate fans who were keen to follow the best footballers and top clubs, many of which are a part of the Spanish top-flight league.
Recognising that and the potential the Indian audience presents, LaLiga decided to open its second Asian office in New Delhi in 2016 and established a team with local and Spanish football administrative experts. In the time period since, LaLiga has accomplished and surpassed several of its objectives, with the pioneering one being increasing the connection with fans in the country.
“Through unique experiences and initiatives across different parts and partnerships with local brands, including a broadcast partnership with one of India’s leading media companies, Viacom18, it has been able to increase the fan following on social media by 2000%, going from 300,000 when LaLiga started working in the country to 6,400,000+ in 2022. ,” it added.
The statement further said: “Another key objective has been to develop football at the grassroots level to work towards bringing India to the global stage in football. Major initiatives like LaLiga Football Schools, work with the Rural Development Trust (Vicente Ferrer Foundation) and more have created a substantial impact on the regions they operate in, with LaLiga’s grassroots programs impacting 20,000+ youth.”
Meanwhile, it also said that LaLiga has established strong relationships with various Indian stakeholders including Dream11, BKT and HeroVired and works closely with influential Indian sportspeople like Rohit Sharma to create a holistic and impactful experience for the fans in the country.
The association with Dream11 as LaLiga’s official fantasy game partner in India was inked in 2019 and since then, LaLiga has become the fastest growing international football fantasy league on the platform.
Commenting on the development, Oscar Mayo, Executive Director, LaLiga, said, “Five years ago, we embarked on an ambitious mission to bring the entertainment and emotion of LaLiga to more fans around the world and to help grow football as a sport everywhere. We are very proud that LaLiga and its main protagonists, clubs, players, coaches, are closer today to more people around the world than ever before. That said, this is just the beginning, together with clubs and with the support of our new partner CVC we will give our international efforts a massive boost.”
Speaking about the anniversary, Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India, said, “As we celebrate five years of being in India, we want to thank our fans and partners in the country for having helped us achieve so much more than we imagined. The 2000% growth in social audience is an exciting number, but a big outcome cannot be measured – how we have deepened our connection with local fans.”
“For the future, we are looking forward to making more meaningful contributions towards improving grassroots football in the country and delivering the best possible experience for the Indian football fans,” he added.