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WED 30 JUN 2021 | GLOBAL GROWTH
The global growth of LaLiga Business School
The global growth of LaLiga Business School
  • LaLiga’s education programme now has 23 MOUs with leading universities and sporting organisations around the world.
  • The programme saw 170 students enrolled in 2020/21 as LaLiga continues to develop new professional skills in the industry.

LaLiga Business School has experienced significant growth since its launch, reaching the point where its range of professional sports courses can be found around the world, supported by some of the world’s leading universities and sporting organisations.

After launching in 2018, the project set out with the aim of providing the sports industry with added value in terms of human capital, through programmes designed and taught by professionals and directors who currently work at LaLiga, clubs, leagues or federations and are living the day-to-day of the sports industry and the transformation it is experiencing.

In just a few years, LaLiga is achieving its objectives of professionalising the sports industry and at the same time creating a significant new part of its international brand.

New agreements in 2020/21

Each year, further agreements are established that to bring the highest quality teaching and insight and networking to the programme’s students, helping develop the wider professionalisation of the industry.

For the 2021/22 season, new memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreements have been signed with partners like Thailand’s Sasin School of Management, Chile’s Universidad de los Andes, Argentina’s Universidad Austral and Costa Rica’s LEAD University.

These renowned institutions join other existing LaLiga Business School partners such as Australia’s University of Canberra, Egypt’s ESLSCA University and the USA’s Columbia University.

Partnerships have also been struck with sporting institutions, the most recent being a collaboration with Egyptian club Al Ahly SC, the biggest football team in MENA and Africa, which will launch a new course within LaLiga’s international MBA programme taught by the club’s board member, Mohamed Serag. The course is planned to launch in Madrid, starting November 2021.

Already there were MOUs in place with the Brazilian football federation’s CBF Academy and the Malaysian Football League, among others.

The resulting combination of lecturers that LaLiga Business School can offer is unrivalled in sports education.  As José Moya, the director of LaLiga Business School, explained: “We want to help professionalise the sports industry at all levels by capturing and developing the talent of today and tomorrow’s professionals. Whether they are already working within football or brand new to the industry, we’re offering courses that were not previously available and can help people approach football with a fresh business mindset.”

Tripling student numbers

The results of this season reflect the appetite for these exclusive programmes, with the number of students enrolled almost tripling in comparison to the previous season, hitting a total of 170. Considering that this past term was the first to take place entirely in the coronavirus era, these numbers are a testament to the attractiveness of the modules and lecturers on offer.

Former students are also embarking on successful careers in the industry, as evidenced by the fact that 18 LaLiga Business School alumni are currently working at LaLiga and 42 are now employed at LaLiga clubs. LaLiga also offers scholarships to its employees and digital courses for professionals at clubs to develop and grow internal talent.

In coming years, LaLiga hopes to continue this trajectory as it cements its role as a reference point for professionalisation in the industry. In recent years, the league has rapidly grown its own organisation by hiring professionals with expertise in fields such as modern marketing, data science, fan engagement or digital disruption, skills which are becoming increasingly demanded across all of football and the wider sports industry.

International growth in the years ahead

Looking towards next season, the MBA of LaLiga, a global programme taught in English, will offer insight through case studies involving professionals at LaLiga and at Spain’s top clubs. The next MBA of LaLiga will begin in November of 2021 and will be held in Madrid, with teaching focused on   unite, Sports and Entertainment, as a Global Business.

Once the pandemic situation allows it, students will also make international field trips to New York, Qatar and Miami and benefit from practical sessions with directors from other sporting leagues, such as the NBA, MLS, NFL and NHL.

For the students and for the wider industry, this global growth is an important step towards a more efficient and professional future for sport. As Moya concluded: “The more internationally qualified and diverse people we have working in the industry, the better equipped the industry will be for growth.”

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