Global Fútbol

Football has become an essential driving force for Castile and León, the Spanish autonomous community that is made up of the nine provinces of Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora. It is ever clearer that the four professional football clubs in this part of Spain (Real Valladolid, Burgos CF, CD Mirandés and SD Ponferradina) generate a significant economic impact for the region.

The Valladolid Chamber of Commerce and Real Valladolid have presented a report which estimates the economic and social impact of the football clubs in Castile and León that are currently competing at either LaLiga Santander of LaLiga SmartBank level.

In economic terms, the study, which has been backed by the four clubs, estimated that their total economic impact for the 2022/23 season works out at 113 million euros, which represents 0.2% of the regional GDP and which also has a multiplier effect on the economy of 1.27. Furthermore, it is said that these four institutions generate almost 1,000 jobs, with 578 of these jobs being direct employment.

This estimation of the impact has been calculated on the basis of the direct economic impact (the economic sectors which benefit from the increased movement of spectators and the income from spending in hotels, restaurants, commerce, transport and other expenses), the indirect economic impact (related to the multiplier effect on other economic activities), the induced economic impact and the media impact (an economic quantification of the extra media visibility that the provinces obtain by having a football team in the national competitions). 

According to the study, visiting fans spend, on average, 160 euros on hospitality and accommodation for each match that they attend. As for the visiting professionals, it is estimated that the spending of the technical and management teams will average around 270 euros for each match. “In this sense, the transfer of a club's budget to the community as a whole, which amounts to 181 million euros, will have an effect on other sectors of 44%,” the Chamber of Commerce stated.

Looking at the different sectors, the indirect effect of the four clubs on the regional economy represents an impact of 2.3m euros in the hotel and hospitality sector; 1.5m euros in transport; 1m euros in commerce; and 1.7m euros in other consumption.

Real Valladolid generate the greatest economic impact  

The figures contained in the report show that Real Valladolid account for nearly 60% of the total impact of the clubs analysed. With their budget of 58m euros, the club presided over by Ronaldo Nazário is believed to generate a direct impact on the autonomous community of Castile and León of 51.4m euros. As well as this direct impact figure, there is a further 15m euros in indirect, induced and media impact, bringing this one club’s contribution to 66m euros (0.5% of the GDP of the province of Valladolid).

Meanwhile, the total impact of SD Ponferradina is calculated to be 17.4m euros, that of Burgos CF is 15.4m euros and that of CD Mirandés is 13.8m euros.

The general director of Burgos CF, Diego Martínez, spoke about the importance of the clubs for the region’s economy, stating: “The benefits brought to the community are significant. This sport is about more than just the 90 minutes of a game. This is a growing sector, one which generates many jobs and which has turned these clubs into companies whose economic influence is key in society.”

As a further example of the work the clubs are doing as engines of growth and generators of wealth in their local territories, the Valladolid Chamber of Commerce and Real Valladolid recently signed an agreement to promote the economic and social development of their province through training and business activities. The aim of this alliance is to promote and foster quality training techniques to boost employability and business competitiveness in Valladolid.