La Liga opens London office

Spanish football top tier competition La Liga has opened a new office in London as it continues its efforts to expand its international presence. 

The office, based in King’s Cross, will be led by the league’s UK and Ireland ambassadors Keegan Pierce and Javier del Rio. It joins La Liga’s international offices in Belgium, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Singapore, the US, South Africa and China, with each making up part of what the league calls its ‘Global Network’.

A statement from the league said that this new London office will “support the league’s goal of promoting LaLiga around the world, while enhancing relationships with stakeholders and engaging with fans of LaLiga and its member clubs,” and that it “represents further progress in terms of LaLiga’s internationalisation strategy.”

Óscar Mayo, LaLiga’s head of revenue, marketing and international development, said: “This strategy sees LaLiga contribute to the growth of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank clubs in key markets by offering business opportunities with support provided by our experts in each region.”

LaLiga president Javier Tebas said: “The UK is one of the most important strategic markets for both LaLiga and its clubs. From a business perspective, London is home to the world’s leading media outlets, broadcasters and sponsors. We look forward to building on the already strong reputation that Spanish football has in the land where the game was born.”

This marks the latest in-road into the UK market for La Liga, and follows the launch of a dedicated pay TV channel with Premier Sports – La Liga TV – on Sky and Virgin Media.

Speaking at the channel’s launch event, Tebas said that the league “wants to be as visible as possible” and that the wider launch will help it in its aspiration to be “the most watched sport in the UK after the Premier League.”