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The investment of almost €2bn will be distributed across teams in LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, with clubs planning to invest in stadiums, training grounds, technology, branding, internationalisation and much more.
Clubs across LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, the top two divisions of Spanish football, are planning major investment projects that will set them up for sustained success over the next several decades. There is no other league in the world with so many clubs planning initiatives of this scale at the same time, making this a very exciting moment for the Spanish football industry.
The investment is made possible thanks to an agreement LaLiga secured with global investment fund CVC which was ratified at the LaLiga General Assembly on December 10th. This collaboration is called ‘LaLiga Impulso’ – or ‘Boost LaLiga’, in English – and brings investment of 1.994 billion euros for LaLiga clubs, who will allocate 70% of this money to investment projects, while 15% can go towards debt relief and 15% towards player signings.
Clubs have already been working on their development plans and have shared these with LaLiga, detailing how they want to use the funds in order to lay solid foundations for the future. As well as receiving the financial backing to make these projects possible, the clubs can also count on LaLiga and CVC’s support and expertise to assist with bringing the various programmes to fruition.
“The LaLiga-CVC agreement is very positive for Spanish football,” says Sevilla FC Vice-President Jose Maria Del Nido Carrasco. “It’s the most important moment for us since the 5/2015 decree which allowed for the centralisation of audiovisual rights sales. I really believe it will mark a before and after for Spanish football.”
SD Eibar president Amaia Gorostiza is equally keen to voice her support for project: “In addition to the significant financial injection, the fund’s knowledge of the sector will allow the clubs to develop strategic projects which will guarantee our future growth. We believe it’s vitally important that all of us in the clubs are moving in the same direction alongside LaLiga and in conjunction with a partner such as CVC, as this will be of benefit to the competition itself.”
This is why there is such a buzz about ‘Boost LaLiga’, as professional clubs across Spain will be investing in their futures at the same time. While many individual clubs have already undertaken investment projects in the past few years, having taken advantage of the increasing revenues made possible from LaLiga’s centralised sale of audiovisual rights, now LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank teams can grow together at the same time, boosting the overall value of the competition.
What will clubs invest in with the ‘Boost LaLiga’ money?
There are various kinds of plans for the CVC money, from redevelopment work on stadiums and training grounds to investment in women’s football to technological enhancements to expansion of marketing departments.
Spain already has some of the very best stadiums in the world, with state-of-the-art new builds such as Atlético de Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano, Athletic Club’s Sam Mamés and RCD Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium. There have also been significant redevelopment projects in the last few years, including CA Osasuna’s El Sadar, Levante UD’s Estadi Ciutat de València and Villarreal CF’s Estadio de la Cerámica.
Now, thanks to ‘Boost LaLiga’, other institutions can follow suit. Sevilla FC, Rayo Vallecano, RCD Mallorca, Granada CF, Getafe CF, Elche CF, Real Betis, and D. Alavés are among the clubs to have stated their intention to use some of the CVC money to better their home grounds. Valencia CF, meanwhile, will now be able to finish the construction of the New Mestalla stadium, which has been in the works for over a decade, creating what club president Anil Murthy describes as an “entertainment centre 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and consistent source of income for the club.”
This will ensure Spain remains one of the countries with the most world-class sporting venues, boasting not just comfortable seats but also state-of-the-art facilities for year-round use, paperless tickets, cashless payments, and even wearable technology that can enhance the fan experience.
More than half of LaLiga Santander clubs have also discussed plans for modernising their training grounds, with some ambitious projects having emerged in this regard. Real Sociedad and CA Osasuna are each planning mini stadiums that will host the home matches of their women’s and B teams, while Real Betis are looking to construct a new sporting complex 15 kilometres outside of Seville featuring 15 pitches, padel and tennis courts, a sports pavilion, and an 8,000-capacity stadium. Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla FC, RCD Espanyol, RCD Mallorca, Granada CF, Elche CF, Cadiz CF, Levante UD, and D. Alavés are also looking to convert their sports cities into world-class training facilities.
Significant investment will be made in technology and digital platforms to ensure Spanish clubs remain at the forefront in this sector. Levante UD, for example, have outlined a blueprint for investing in big data to better understand their supporters and, ultimately, improve their fan engagement. RCD Mallorca and Valencia CF, meanwhile, hope to develop their digital platforms in order to assist with their internationalisation efforts.
Internationalisation has been a key ambition for Spanish clubs for several years already and there is a belief that this period of investment can help support global branding, marketing, and communications efforts too.
Promoting a club’s story abroad is increasingly focused on compelling content in today’s day and age, and Atlético de Madrid will ensure some of their ‘Boost LaLiga’ funds are channelled into Atleti Studios, the capital city club’s new in-house production company. Through the productions made by Atleti Studios, fans around the world were able to see visually stunning behind-the-scenes content when Atleti won the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander championship. Now, more content can be created to enhance the unique storytelling side of LaLiga football.
Atleti CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín says: “This agreement will allow us to improve our infrastructures and adapt them to new technologies in order to offer new content in different formats and with improved quality standards. In addition, investing in technological resources – both technical and human – will give us the opportunity to reach a greater audience and offer a wider range of services and more content.”
Javier Fernández, the president of LaLiga SmartBank club Sporting Gijón, is another club director who is always looking to the future and is delighted that Spanish clubs can take this step into the future together and in partnership with LaLiga and CVC. “Now is the time to lay a solid foundation for the future with the growth of LaLiga and the clubs that have been part of its tremendous evolution in recent year,” he says. “The maturity of LaLiga and those of us who form it will be reflected in the exciting projects that we will carry out to modernise our infrastructures, diversify our sources of resources and allow us to move closer to our fans, both in our communities and in the rest of the world.”
