Global Fútbol

RCD Mallorca, RCD Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano are back among the best. Los Bermellones and Los Blanquiazules returned to the top flight of Spanish football through direct promotion following a single year in LaLiga SmartBank. Meanwhile, the Madrid-based outfit went up on the back of a two-year stint in the silver tier. Following a thrilling promotion playoff round, the team managed by Andoni Iraola managed to return to the giddy heights of LaLiga Santander.

RCD Espanyol, the first to secure a LaLiga Santander place

Espanyol is a historic club, one of LaLiga's founders and a protagonist in such significant milestone events as scoring the first goal in the history of the competition, netted by Pitus Prat. With four games still left to play, they secured their return to the First Division, allowing Los Pericos' fans to breathe easy and sparing them an agonising wait until the final matchday to find out whether their team would make it back among the best.

Regardless of the division they have played in, the club has always placed its members at the centre of all its decisions. "The response from our fans, even in the thick of the pandemic and despite the club being relegated, was spectacular and proof of that can be found in the growth in the number of members and season-ticket holders during our time in LaLiga SmartBank. Our challenge is to continue to grow the number of members and season-ticket holders," assures the club's CEO, Jose Maria Duran.

Commercially, Espanyol is planning, despite the difficulties posed in the present day due to the global pandemic, "to recover the level of agreements and revenue" that it had in LaLiga Santander and, from that position, to grow in accordance with the potential of a historic club which, "as demonstrated by business profitability indicators, always offers added value to the partners that work with us". In this regard, Duran expresses his satisfaction with the continuity of its partners from 2020/21 plus the "incorporation of new travel companions giving the club their backing".

"Thanks to the commitment of our president, our club has achieved a financial stability that allows us to set out a strategic growth plan that will allow us to develop the full potential our club is capable of attaining," he goes on to say. "We're a club with one of the best academies nationally and internationally, with a magnificent stadium and players who are highly talented in sporting terms and who have an international impact."

Increasing international reach

One of the main challenges is continuing to increase international reach. In addition to the club's local roots, in recent years it has undergone exponential growth in China and it has international partners that have been working with the club for many years. "We want to continue growing in China, and not just there. We're also focused on territories such as Mexico, where we have a connection through one of our sponsors, and the United States, where we're currently helping to boost the competition’s presence."

In addition to its commercial presence and agreements with international partners, among other aspects, it has training academies around the world that "allow us to expand our brand, advertise our core identity attributes and share part of our training methods. They've been a resounding success and we will continue to build on strengthening this aspect of our internationalisation strategy."

In the first instance, relegation was a harsh setback. This "step backwards" for RCD Espanyol meant having to "take two steps forward on our return", because in addition to focusing on promotion, work was also done on key aspects for the club's development, such as the renovation of the Dani Jarque Training Ground in Sant Adria.

"We're modernising the facilities to adapt them to the highest standards, in terms of pitches, lighting, redistributing space, digitalising the venue to allow for network projects, including the installation of an automated training session and match monitoring system, which also feeds data and information into our sporting department's performance analysis system," explains Duran.

RCD Mallorca: consolidation in the division as a basis for growth

Los Bermellones achieved promotion to the top flight of professional football by amassing 82 points, the same number as RCD Espanyol. Now "the objective is to consolidate our position in LaLiga Santander so that we can continue growing as a club," remarks the general manager of Mallorca, Alfonso Diaz, explaining this season's challenges. "Our continued presence in the top flight would provide us with much stability. At this point, we have paid off our debts and we want to grow with the greatest of hopes but with our feet firmly on the ground."

Mallorca's biggest aspiration is to continue this process of consolidation as a club in all areas of the football business. "We want to be a proactive club, which is adapted to the current times and in the best shape to be able to respond to the big challenges faced by clubs in the present day: consolidating our membership with no barriers to the expansion process."

"We're a club from a wonderful Mediterranean island, in the best league in the world and with North American owners. I think we've already said a lot about who we are with that definition alone, a club that's open to all," adds Diaz. "Our sponsors don't differentiate between nationalities and we have a great balance among the brands supporting us in these difficult times, which are local and international businesses that also identify with our values and see us as the best medium to propel them towards each of their respective objectives."

For the Majorcan club, the basis of everything is achieving good results on the pitch and staying in LaLiga, "a key footing for retaining our international status and applying our strategies". "Being in LaLiga offers us a huge showcase and we also have important football assets in Asia and the United States, which represents a significant challenge for us when it comes to boosting our international growth."

Continued expansion with the support of international players

RCD Mallorca's squad includes players such as Kang-in Lee (South Korea), Take Kubo (Japan) and Matthew Hoppe (United States), three markets enjoying an excellent present and with an even brighter future when it comes to football. "We have to combine a good local and national strategy with an ambitious international strategy to raise awareness in those territories, without forgetting about other European markets such as Britain and Germany, where most of the tourists who visit our island come from," he goes on to say.

As a brand, the Balearic club acts as one of the island's tourism ambassadors. "The naming rights of our ground, the Visit Mallorca Stadium, seeks to attract people to the island of Mallorca. When our stadium's name is repeated the world over, millions of people receive the very important message to visit Mallorca." Undoubtedly, combining all of these international assets is a big challenge.

Currently, apart from the local sponsors, whose loyalty according to Diaz deserves "massive recognition and gratitude", the club has also partnered with international brands, such as the main shirt sponsor from Japan. "We're working on a strategy that highlights our values, substantiating our proposition through our football assets. Two seasons ago, we were the most-watched team in Japan and we want to repeat that, with our sights also set on South Korea and the United States."

In the area of social media, "in August we were the LaLiga club with the third most views on YouTube behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. These figures are the result of an effective content strategy targeted at Japan and South Korea, complementing what we already do with our most loyal local fans".

To face the challenges of the future, RCD Mallorca is planning to improve its stadium and move people closer to the field of play. "As a whole, the experience of fans who attend the Visit Mallorca Stadium needs to be better and part of that is being much closer to the show," he finished by saying.

Rayo Vallecano: 19th season at elite level

Rayo Vallecano moved up to LaLiga Santander following a thrilling promotion playoff round. After overcoming CD Leganes (3-0 in the first leg at Vallecas and 2-1 in the second leg at Butarque), the Madrilenians faced off against Girona FC in the final.

The first match, played at Los Franjirrojos' stadium, went in Girona's favour (2-1). To make the cut, Andoni Iraola's side needed to win by a single goal at Montilivi, provided they scored at least twice, or by two or more goals. And they achieved the feat, walking away with a 2-0 victory with goals by Alvaro Garcia and Oscar Trejo to secure their return to the First Division, achieving their eighth promotion to the top flight to play their 19th season at elite level.