Global Fútbol

BOOST LALIGA is celebrating its anniversary. The project, which emerged from the agreement between the British investment fund CVC Capital Partners and LALIGA in December of 2021 and which has been backed by the clubs, is two years old and has followed the initial roadmap, with the investment allowing LALIGA clubs to accelerate their growth and develop in multiple areas.

To mark the occasion, representatives from Real Sporting, RCD Mallorca and Sevilla FC took part in a media event at the LALIGA headquarters in Madrid. David Guerra, the executive president of Real Sporting, Alfonso Díaz, the CEO of RCD Mallorca, and José María del Nido Carrasco, the president of Sevilla FC, outlined the different projects being carried out by their clubs and highlighted the importance and benefits of this collective growth plan.

Jaime Blanco, the director of the LALIGA Clubs Office, started off by stating: “This is a different kind of project because the clubs are focusing on the business side of things. The clubs are advancing in areas that weren’t developed beforehand and now, by contrast, they are growing very quickly in internationalisation, infrastructure and digitalisation.”

As of January 2024, LALIGA has received funds from CVC to distribute to the clubs totalling the amount of €1,370 million. Of this total, 75%, which is €1,028 million, has already been approved and delivered to the clubs. The rest, €342 million, is set to be distributed to the clubs pending their initiatives and approvals. Only one payment from CVC remains from the €1,994 million that was committed at the outset, and this will be deposited before the end of the 2023/24 season.

José María del Nido Carrasco, the president of Sevilla FC, remarked: “The CVC funds are allowing us to grow faster than we had planned in the execution of our strategic plans. They allow us to grow quicker and to tackle our strategic plans in terms of branding, marketing, social media expansion, leading to threefold growth in followers, and more, such as investment in our R&D&I technology department.”

Discussing the short- and medium-term plans made possible thanks to the CVC funds, the Sevilla FC president added: “The work we are carrying out on the first team’s sporting complex, with three separate football pitches and a building that will be completed next month, is being done at a cost of €14 million. In addition, we already have the preliminary project for the new stadium, which will bring a capacity increase to 55,000 spectators and help us to use the venue 365 days a year, which will bring us between €30 to €40 million net revenue in future seasons.”

Meanwhile, RCD Mallorca have made numerous investments using the CVC funds. Beyond the flagship project, which has been the redevelopment of their stadium, the club invested in hiring staff for multiple departments and in boosting their youth football setup by contracting professionals, while there are also new offices in the sports city and a medical centre, among other developments.

When the CEO of RCD Mallorca, Alfonso Díaz, also spoke, he wanted to highlight the importance of the Boost Plan and said: “To reach such a level of investment and growth we would have needed many years, but BOOST LALIGA has allowed us to take giant steps.” Given that BOOST LALIGA is, among many things, a project based on establishing a broad collective vision, Díaz added: “I want to emphasise that we clubs now work more in a concerted way, as we talk and share ideas. We follow the same paths and the same way of working. It is fundamental for us to have a vision of LALIGA as a whole.”

RCD Mallorca have taken on a stadium redevelopment project, with a very clear idea of giving the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix a new lease of life. Their director continued: “Our stadium is the cornerstone and BOOST LALIGA allowed us to enhance it, with the fans and the match experience in mind, in order to reach another level of revenue. The stadium is now designed to welcome any fan who wants to visit the club. We removed the athletics track, which contributed to a colder atmosphere, while we also have a new roof, new seating and seven different hospitality areas to attract different types of customers.”

On the immediate benefits obtained by the club, he explained: “The levels of operating income from ticketing, sponsors and food and beverage on matchdays are already multiplying. Thanks to BOOST LALIGA, we estimate that we’ll grow operating revenues by 43% this season. In the coming years we estimate that we can grow at a rate of more than 80% compared to before we started with the BOOST LALIGA project.”

Meanwhile, David Guerra, the executive president of Real Sporting, acknowledged that his club wants to be “competitive at the national and international level” and that “this can be achieved” thanks to this project. He also explained how they are doing a great job in improving infrastructures.

He stated: “We have the oldest stadium in Spanish football and the second oldest sporting complex in Spain, which speaks to the tradition, values and history of Real Sporting, and of what it means to the fans, however Mareo needed a revamp. BOOST LALIGA arrived just at the time of a change of management at the club and it is very much in line with the management model of Orlegi Sports, with a very significant investment in infrastructure. We have invested around €10 million and we plan to reach €14 million with Mareo, plus the investment in El Molinón, in technology and innovation. In the next few weeks, we are going to inaugurate the newly refurbished sports building at Mareo, while the next initiative will be works aimed at improving the fans experience.”

Finally, and thanks to BOOST LALIGA, Real Sporting have also been able to invest in “talent and leadership, with the strengthening of the department of applied sports science that covers everything related to player performance”. This all has an impact on fitness and performance and the executive president said: “Last year we had a lot of injuries and this year there have only been two muscle injuries. There were a lot of groin problems in the youth teams yet we are improving on that too with the new pitches.”

These are just a few examples of the projects that have taken place over the past two years, as many LALIGA clubs are accelerating their growth by redeveloping their stadiums, building sports cities, investing in digital strategy, opening up to new strategic markets around the world and working on more ambitious plans that will take LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION clubs to a higher level of development and revenue generation.