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The LALIGA president started off by stating: “There are many historical ties between Spain and the Arab world, and with football they have grown even more. Many fans follow LALIGA in the Middle East. We work with all the countries in the area because there are so many fans.”
Highlighting the importance of having a presence in this part of the world, he added: “We believe that having a physical presence is very important and we have had an office in Dubai for nine years and we have delegates in several countries. It is very important to be on site to understand well what’s happening. You have to understand the culture of the countries and what the sports culture is like in that country.”
During the round table conversation, which was moderated by Ali Khaled of Arab News, Tebas was asked about the projects LALIGA currently has in the region. To that, he replied: “When we talk about MENA, it is a big region. We have different plans in different countries. For example, we have a structure with the office in Dubai. We also have a very important physical presence in Iraq, where we are developing an important agreement to help Iraqi football grow in the region. We are also working in Saudi Arabia with the project we have with the government.”
Discussing the evolution of football in Saudi Arabia further, Tebas continued: “Clearly, Saudi Arabia has taken the decision to become a major player in the football industry. It wants to have a good competition, with its own league. It wants to host big tournaments, such as the World Cup, which is the ultimate event you can host. From my experience, to have a good league you can’t just bring in great players. That has to go hand in hand with growing the brands of the clubs and with a proper international strategy, so that the competition grows and becomes known internationally. If you build the brands of the clubs and competition then that lasts forever.”
LALIGA recently reached an agreement for Visit Saudi to become the new official travel destination and global sponsor of the competition. This deal will help to highlight Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s and football industry’s fastest-growing locations. During the discussion at the World Football Summit Asia, Tebas was asked for further details on how LALIGA and the rest of the Spanish football industry will help Saudi Arabia to grow.
On this, he said: “We are working and helping to make Saudi Arabia better known in the sports industry. With the public agreements, with the Saudi government, we work on two different aspects. One is more entertainment, which is what we developed with the Ministry of Entertainment. For example, we opened the LEGENDS Museum in Riyadh a few months ago and also a restaurant under our TwentyNine’s brand, also in Riyadh. And I can anticipate that we will possibly extend to other cities in Saudi Arabia.”
He continued: “Then we have a project with on-site academies here and other projects for youngsters to travel to train in Spain at our centre and the centres of some clubs. We are working with the Ministry of Sport, on issues such as sports academies, methodology, work, etc. We must also remember that, not as LALIGA but as Spain, the Royal Spanish Football Federation has an agreement that until 2029 the Spanish Super Cup will be played in Saudi Arabia. So, we are doing many things in Spain, in the football industry, and all on a bilateral basis, to help each other grow.”
Finally, Tebas concluded by highlighting the threat of piracy for the football industry in MENA and beyond, while pointing out that this is another area where LALIGA can offer support thanks to the competition’s state-of-the-art tools. He explained: “All of us in the region must fight against audiovisual piracy. It hurts all of us, the foreign leagues and the local leagues. This is a part of the world where there is a lot of audiovisual piracy. So, we have to work and we talk about it with the governments of the different countries. We have tools to reduce piracy. We not only deal with sporting issues, as we are also concerned about overall issues in the football industry. This will help us all grow.”
