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WED 10 MAY 2023 | PRESIDENTS
“Investment in Mareo will be the basis of the club’s business model, of the entire structure and of how to make Real Sporting sustainable”
“Investment in Mareo will be the basis of the club’s business model, of the entire structure and of how to make Real Sporting sustainable”
  • David Guerra, the executive president of Real Sporting, has highlighted how investment in the Mareo Football School will be a way of bringing about growth and business for Los Rojiblancos.

The executive president of Real Sporting, David Guerra, has discussed Grupo Orlegi’s first year at the club and pointed out that investment in infrastructure is key to the club’s present and future growth. He also discussed the importance of the club’s international presence and reviewed the plans they have for this summer in Mexico, at both a sporting and business level.

What is your assessment of Grupo Orlegi’s first season at Real Sporting?

The first season has been a learning experience. In general terms, it has been positive, although on the sporting side it has not gone as we had hoped. This first year is the beginning of an evolution and transformation for the club. All the decisions we have taken, from organisational changes to establishing the direction in which we want to take all areas of the club, are in the interests of professionalisation and the desire to return Real Sporting to the level where the club belongs. One of the lessons of this year is that this club has enormous potential. The fans, the region of Asturias and the city of Gijón have great goals and we working in line with that.

There is a positive feeling apart from the sporting one, which was logically disappointing since we weren’t able to fight for even the playoffs, which is where this club should always be if playing in the second tier. This is something we have to analyse and we must be self-critical as we look ahead to next season. What is clear is that we have to aspire to do more and to do better.

What has truly changed at the club during this time?

Many things have changed, but I would highlight the change in the vision, which is something that affects all departments. Everyone knew the potential here and everyone wants the best for the club, from those around the club to others in the city of Gijón and other Asturians, but that sometimes got lost when it came to taking on commitments and focusing and linking all the projects at the club. We have worked on everything with that in mind, with the view that this club has to go to the next level.

How do we achieve this? We do so with excellence in many areas. Changing the structure for the people, with their leadership and their capabilities, has been one of the key elements. We have looked at and evolved the organisational structure by attracting Asturian talent that was abroad, and they’ve come with that international understanding to provide the club with that experience; we have brought in people with experience in other clubs; we have contributed with our shared services at the Orlegi level, which is a competitive advantage in the market and which has helped us with our very international vision; we have hired very reputable people, such as our Head Greenkeeper, who is the first woman to lead the pitch maintenance of any professional club in Spain; we have restructured different areas; we have taken advantage of the experience of many of the professionals who were here contributing to the club; and we have made numerous changes in internal processes, such as the way things are done and what each of us will be focused on. For example, with the nutritional side of the sporting performance area, we created the 'Applied Sports Sciences' department, which covers everything related to player performance (physical, nutritional, psychological, etc.), in other words, all aspects of performance.

We have also brought in highly respected professionals to work within the structure of Mareo, our youth academy, and that is helping us to restructure and continue developing the talent that has long been present here. The other big change is with our infrastructure thanks to the support of the CVC funds, as we’re working on a major renovation that will be the most significant in Mareo’s history.

So, what we’ve already implemented in this year includes structural changes, decisions regarding public opinion, business decisions and investments in infrastructure, some already made and some we’re continuing to make in order to build a solid and sustainable club over time.

In short, what is the club’s roadmap in a business sense?

We want to and we must increase our income and reposition the Sporting brand at a market value that is in line with the reality of this club and its potential for growth, while, at the same, we’re working to make the costs of our structure more efficient. On the business side, we have worked a lot with our sponsors and partners, both existing and new, so that they understand the new situation and, above all, so that they join us on this path we are trying to follow, which is to move the club forward, to truly professionalise it and to reach a level of excellence. We are not going to achieve that just by having 11 players representing us on the pitch, far from it. This has to come from all those at the club and with the region behind us. This is why the institutional relations we have and the medium-term projects such as El Molinón 2030 are very important.

In terms of how to generate new business, we have brought in international sponsors such as the State of Jalisco, which is going to become one of our main allies. In addition, we have increased and produced new revenue sources, such as with electronic advertising, which is common in the first division but not all second division clubs have it and we now do. We have also created a business club (RSG Business Club) for those who want to be connected at the club, while we have improved our stadium experience and, on the retail side, we have evolved our collaboration with Puma and also opened up new lines, such as a vintage one with the Coolligan brand, which is delivering a very good return and brand presence.

We’re very clear at the club that it’s not just about being known at the regional or even national level, but it’s about competing internationally. In fact, we are going to go to Mexico this summer for pre-season to promote our brand. The objective is to find new ways of connecting with our partners, to see how we can involve with them and show how we really need them to reach to the next level.

The club seems to be clear about the idea that renewing infrastructure is key to growth. What projects do you have in mind in that sense?

Having the CVC funds is a very important competitive advantage. We know that the investment we make in Mareo will be the basis of the club’s business model, of the entire structure and of how to make the club sustainable. Logically, in the short term, Mareo is the root and DNA of the whole Real Sporting project for us.

We are also renovating the professional areas where the first team is based, with a clinic and a gym that is adapted to modern times. Plus, in the main building we are renovating, regenerating and repositioning the Mareo residence, making it an international academy where we will be able to welcome some of the best talents from Mexico. We have just announced agreements with Mexican clubs Santos Laguna and Atlas, two teams in Grupo Orlegi, so that the best talents from their academies can come here and form part of the Real Sporting structure. We don’t want to stop there, as we want to see more talent in the international residence and for those players to be attracted by the name of Mareo, by the prestige of Real Sporting and by the quality and the level of our coaches. The plan is for this to become more dynamic and become an essential part of our business model in the medium term.

As for our stadium, El Molinón, we believe it has to evolve and change to remain competitive. Among other reasons, this is why we are currently hoping to make Asturias a host site of the 2030 World Cup via the Asturias 2030 project, because we know that we represent Asturias and not just Gijón or Real Sporting. If the World Cup does come to Spain, El Molinón could be a key element and that would probably mean a comprehensive renovation of the infrastructure and restoring the aura of modernity and pioneering spirit that El Molinón has always had, as far as football stadiums are concerned.

How important is internationalisation for clubs? What are the strategic territories for the club?

Internationalisation is key for all LaLiga clubs, so that we can continue to be competitive in all areas as a group, meaning as LaLiga as a whole. In the specific case of Real Sporting, we believe in the enormous potential that Asturias possesses. We believe that there is a history of industrial development anchored in mining, iron and steel and other companies that have led us to the present of the region, but the potential of Asturias abroad is something that can be further developed. Furthermore, we arrived here as Grupo Orlegi and did so with a clear international vision, currently with three clubs but surely there will be more in the near future.

Our internationalisation plan involves strategic markets such as Mexico and the United States, especially because of Grupo Orlegi’s Mexican roots. This is why we’ll have a first trip to Mexico this upcoming pre-season. We will be there for 15 days and play three matches, with LaLiga supporting us on this tour. As part of this pre-season, we’ll organise a trade campaign with different Asturian businesspeople so that they too can establish connections and networking with businesses with businesspeople from Mexico, in Guadalajara in Jalisco and in the La Laguna area in Torreón, Coahuila.

These are very important opportunities that the club does not want to miss out on. As we continue to grow, those of us within the group know full well the international presence that clubs need to have and, with the clubs in Mexico, we already have academies throughout Mexico and the United States, which is why we believe that Real Sporting must also expand to be where our fans are and to grow our fanbase in order to generate further business.

For the business community in Gijón, the club has an ambitious plan with the RSG Business Club. How did the idea come about and how important and necessary do you think this is?

We are aware that none of what we’ll achieve will be achieved by us alone, nor will it be achieved by 11 players. It will be achieved by the sum of all those who exist around the club, with their support and commitment. That is why we believe that the Asturian business fabric is very relevant and we think it’s very important that they are linked to the club. We are aware of the reticence that a new owner of the club may generate and the historical relationships that these different businesspeople may have had with Real Sporting in the past, but what is clear to us is that we do want to be connected to them and that they also want to be close to us so that they can get to know us. That’s part of the idea of the business club, as we try to close the distance between the business community and the club. We want to demonstrate how we can be better connected, how we can get to know each other and how we can give back in some way through experiences, access, branding and the reach that football has for all these companies, who have the opportunity to be close to Real Sporting. We believe that the creation of a business club is going to strengthen the business fabric as a whole, whether for a large company or, in many cases, a medium or small company. They can be linked to the club and benefit from what we have created with this business club, making the most of the chance to develop more business.

Within the framework of this business club, we are launching a first trip to Mexico for businesspeople. We are also encouraged by the support we have received from all the chambers of commerce and from the local institutions, both from the City Council and the Principality, as this is a very positive asset for generating value for all around the club through Real Sporting. Sporting can, as a team, unite very diverse people with different business backgrounds, people who are linked by a passion and the desire to grow, to do business and to contribute to Asturias. I think this is something we have to explore at the club and we must assume the responsibility we have for being the centre of it all.

How does Real Sporting view the agreement with CVC?

It is a great agreement for LaLiga and the clubs, helping us to be competitive in the short term and to build for the future. This vision of investing in infrastructure to generate self-sustainable and more competitive clubs in the medium and long term is a vision that we, at Real Sporting and Grupo Orlegi, share because it is the basis of our model.

For Real Sporting, it gives us the opportunity to make investments that we would not otherwise have been able to make in the setting of the second division. We boast a great history, with Mareo’s production of talent and an infrastructure that was pioneering at the time for being the second great sporting complex of Spanish football after Lezama, and we believe that this puts us back on the map, something we’ll achieve with the name of Mareo thanks to the agreement with CVC. In the short term, we believe that it is extremely necessary to professionalise the club as much as possible and to reestablish ourselves as a benchmark in the development of talent.

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