Spain´s La Liga seeks to boost popularity in Asia

Spain’s La Liga said Thursday it would launch a pre-season exhibition tournament in Asia next year to boost its profile in the region, where the English Premier League dominates.

Some matches will also have an earlier kick-off time in the upcoming season to encourage more football fans in Asia to watch the Spanish league, La Liga chief executive Francisco Roca Perez said in Singapore.

“Our objective is to be one of the prominent leagues in this part of the world, and I think because of the level of football that we play in the Spanish league, we ought to be,” he said at a sports forum.

Spain’s top professional football league lags in popularity behind the EPL in Asia, despite boasting the likes of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Real Madrid’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

But following Spain’s first World Cup triumph in South Africa earlier this month, there could be no better time to raise La Liga’s profile in the region, Perez said.

“We are one of the highest profile leagues in terms of the quality of players,” he said. “The World Cup showed the level of quality of play.”

Perez admitted that La Liga had some catching up to do in Asia but insisted the Spanish league could win over new Asian fans with the right formula.

“Like I said before, our respect for premier league is huge and our admiration for whatever premier league has done is huge,” Perez said at the Soccerex Asian Forum.

“Obviously, if we change the television times, the kick-off time, this is essential. I recognise that, we understand that, we have to do it, otherwise it would be impossible” to gain more fans in Asia, he said.

Perez said at least one weekend game would be played at a “reasonably Asian-friendly time” when the new season begins next month.

In addition, La Liga’s pre-season International LFP Cup tournament will kick off its first edition in Asia between July and August next year.

It will comprise three top-flight Spanish clubs against a local team from the Asian country hosting the event.

However, reigning La Liga champion Barcelona and arch rival Real Madrid, the two Spanish clubs that Asian fans are most familiar with, will not feature in the LFP Cup for at least the next two years, Perez said.

“What we are trying to do with this is change a little bit the gears in the way the Spanish league is being promoted internationally,” he said.

“I say changing gears because much of the promotion of the Spanish league, international promotion of course, has been driven by the individual efforts of mostly FC Barcelona and Real Madrid and this has been extremely successful for us, but it’s not enough for us.”