Spanish league chases Asian cash with early Clasico start

FOR the first time, Spanish football’s showpiece event – El Clasico between giants Real Madrid and Barcelona – has been scheduled for a lunchtime kickoff (2pm SA time) on Saturday as La Liga seeks to capture Asia’s attention – and its cash.

“We are keen to provide our fans in Asia with the opportunity to watch Real Madrid and Barcelona face off at a time that is convenient to them,” La Liga spokesman Joris Evers said.

With a potential television audience of 650 million people, El Clasico was the most watched club game around the world, La Liga said.

This was due to its unique mixture of stars and a fierce rivalry fostered over decades – both on and off field by the distinct cultural differences between Catalonia and Madrid.

Jose Maria Gay de Liebana, professor of economics at Barcelona University and an expert in Spanish soccer finances, said: “It is the ideal shop window, the marquee match to show to people Spanish football.”

However, it is not just a boom in lucrative television rights that La Liga and its two biggest clubs are seeking with the early start, but a showcase for all of their lucrative sponsorship contracts.

Last year, Barcelona signed a club record shirt sponsorship deal worth a minimum of ß220-million (R3.3-billion) over four years with Japanese online retailer Rakuten.

“They want to sell their products to international markets, above all in Asia,” Gay de Liebana said.

According to a study by consumer analytic specialists Nielsen Sports, last season’s first La Liga Clasico of the season generated more than ß42.5-million (about R644-million) in media value for sponsors.

“China, India and all around the Philippines are all locations where we know there are many La Liga fans and where we will be hosting events to celebrate El Clasico,” Gay de Libana said.

“Additional events are being held in various locations around Asia.

“Through this and other initiatives we want to make existing fans even bigger La Liga supporters and, of course, we want to attract new supporters as well.”

Such events are a sign of La Liga’s awareness of how the Spanish top flight lags behind England’s cash-rich Premier League in the battle for Asian-based fans.

The English Premier League’s billions of income from domestic and international TV rights a season dwarfs La Liga’s revenue.

Moreover, while Asia is the Premier League’s biggest international market, it trails behind the Americas and the rest of Europe in La Liga’s rights deals.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said at the opening of a new office of the league in Singapore earlier this year: “We have changed kickoff schedules so that they can be seen at reasonable times here in Asia and we will continue to take steps to ensure that this part of the world can enjoy La Liga as much as possible.”

The opening of an office in Singapore is just one of a series of new La Liga bases across the world.

Tebas is acutely aware that Spain’s privileged position at the top of the European game is coming under threat from the English Premier League’s economic power.

He has repeatedly warned the Premier League could become the NBA of European football, capable of poaching Barcelona and Madrid’s stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – in the same way Barcelona were powerless to stop Qatarbacked Paris Saint Germain paying a world record ß222-million (R3.5-billion) for star Neymar in August.

Gay de Liebana believed the focus should not just be on Asia and to take advantage of the cultural and language advantage they have in Latin American markets, from where many of its stars like Messi and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez hail. – AFP