LaLiga Impulso initiative disburses €1 billion to clubs

LaLiga, the premier Spanish soccer league, has disclosed the distribution of approximately €1 billion to its member clubs through its LaLiga Impulso program. This initiative, designed to reshape the league’s commercial landscape, is fuelled by €2 billion in funding from the US investment group CVC, with €1.4 billion already allocated.

The funds provided to clubs are specifically earmarked for enhancing their non-sporting aspects. Of the total €2 billion, 15 percent is designated for debt resolution, another 15 percent for financial fair play commitments and the remaining 70 percent for the overall growth of participating clubs.

Jaime Blanco Manrique, LaLiga’s head of clubs office, clarified at a media event that approximately 20 percent of the total funds have been retained by LaLiga. These funds are contingent on clubs presenting development plans and initiatives aligned with the LaLiga Impulso program. The funds are then transferred based on the evaluation of these initiatives.

“LaLiga has [kept] around 20% of the total funds, because those funds are not freely distributed to the clubs,” Blanco Manrique explained.

“The clubs need to present us with a development plan, they need to present us with initiatives and evidence of what they want to do. The clubs evaluate those initiatives and if it’s within the spirit of [LaLiga Impulso] then the funds are transferred.”

🔵 @GetafeCFen officially opens its new offices.

🤝 Clubs continue to grow thanks to LALIGA Impulso. pic.twitter.com/KeKtTSwiji

— LALIGA Corporativo (@LaLigaCorp) November 16, 2023

Clubs seeking to utilise the funding for specific infrastructure upgrades must secure approval from regional administrations. According to Blanco Manrique, the goal is to ensure that the funds are invested wisely and generate returns by boosting income and overall financial health.

Real Betis, a major supporter of the LaLiga Impulso plan, has benefited significantly. Pablo Ortiz Donaire, the club’s commercial director, outlined how the funding has been utilised for projects such as upgrading their training facility and planning for a new stadium.

“We faced two projects, the first one is already done, that was our [training] facility. […] The challenging part is the new stadium,” Ortiz Donaire said.

“We are in a tourist city, we want to be a touristic [sic] spot, we want to be a venue, we want to make money every day. We want to make an investment that can move the activity of our city toward our stadium.”

Betis has also used the funding to enhance its internationalisation efforts.

LaLiga, through Impulso, sets commercial targets for each club, focusing on areas such as international strategy. Clubs receive feedback and support to improve their global standing. Despite participating in a pre-season tour of North America earlier this year, Ortiz Donaire acknowledged that the true impact of internationalisation strategies may take time to materialise.

Speaking to GlobalData, Donaire stated, “You cannot measure every action. Obviously, we have an increase in our focus in Mexico and the US. We keep feeding the market with content, especially Mexico as it is one of our key markets and we want to see the results in the long term.”

“Obviously, every time LaLiga makes one of those tours we want to be involved, every opportunity we have to move around is good.”