La Liga boost to Spanish economy

DOHA, May 23, (AFP): La Liga is so lucrative it is set to double its contribution to Spain’s economy, reaching almost two percent of the country’s GDP by 2019, a Doha conference heard Tuesday.

The global impact of stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and their clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, means the game will account for a predicted 1.63 percent of Spain’s gross domestic product in two years’ time.

Currently it is worth around 0.75 percent, Alfredo Lorenzo, La Liga’s security director said.

“We expect to double the figures by 2019,” he told the World Stadium Congress in Qatar.

“There’s been a huge transformation in professional football in Spain, we are investing in many ways.”

If Spain’s 2015 GDP figure of $1.19 trillion, as calculated by the World Bank, is the same in 2019, it would mean Spain’s top two divisions — La Liga and La Liga 2 — generating almost $20 billion (18 billion euros).

In the past few years La Liga has pushed hard to raise its global profile.

TV rights have been sold to every country in the world, except four — Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, North Korea and Russia — added Lorenzo.

An estimated global audience of 650 million tuned in to watch football’s biggest domestic clash, last month’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

La Liga’s “global network” also has offices in more than 50 countries worldwide.

“International expansion is one of the important elements. We want to be number one in the world,” he said.

“We want to be a world class competition, fighting with the NBA, Formula One and the Premier League.”