LaLiga active in Southeast Asia with 'Extra Time' event, collaboration with KL City
While the LaLiga is in the off-season, the Spanish league continues to be active in the Southeast Asia region.
It held its first "Extra Time" edition in Singapore, sharing knowledge of experts from the sports and entertainment industry at the Tapas Club on 13 July.
The event, which saw the participation of Valencia football club, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Optus Sport, Mediapro Asia and members of LALIGA in two panels, also served to introduce LaLiga's new identity, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the opening of its Singapore office in 2017.
"LaLiga Extra Time has served to show 'The power of our fútbol', as our new slogan says, but above all, to share the knowledge of the industry and bring the competition and the clubs closer to their many fans in this region of the world," said Ivan Codina, LaLiga's managing director for Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
The first of the panels was about the digital transformation of football, and how broadcasters and rights holders are working together hand in hand to grow the sport.
Leonard Soler, LaLiga’s Head of International Rights, and Lars Heidenreich, managing director of Mediapro Asia, cited the recent partnership between LaLiga and EA Sports as an example of the ever-changing viewing habits of today’s generation, and how it offers opportunities for rights holders and broadcasters to have a deeper engagement with their audience.
The second panel delved into the importance of having a solid foundation in grassroots football in order to build success at the elite levels of the sport. Both panellists - Luis Martinez, director of Valencia CF Academy, and Baihakki Khaizan, FAS' head of planning - attested to its importance.
“We have recently established our national development centre, which focuses on players from the Under-8 to Under-16 age groups and the whole dream is to get players from Singapore to play in Europe," Baihakki said. "This is where we need to tell these kids that yes, there is a dream to play in Europe, but you need to work hard and we need to set that path for them.”
Kuala Lumpur City signs collaboration agreement with Cadiz
In Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur City FC have signed a collaboration agreement with LaLiga side Cádiz CF, which will see the two clubs collaborate on several fronts for mutual benefit.
This includes the Malaysian team going to Spain for pre-season training at Cádiz’s facilities, and playing a friendly match with the Spanish club’s first team.
The agreement was signed by Kuala Lumpur City chief executive officer Stanley Bernard Samuel, while Cádiz was represented by director of operations Jose Luiz Donoso Alvarez. The signing session was presided over by Adrián Prol Vázquez, delegate of LaLiga in Malaysia.
Samuel said that this collaboration represented a tremendous opportunity for KL City to learn the best practices from a team competing in one of the best leagues in the world.
“There is great value in exposing our players and coaches to training programs and coaching courses that can be organised either in Malaysia or Spain,” he added.
Cádiz co-owner Ben Harburg commented, “Cádiz have a strategic focus on Southeast Asia and we believe a partnership with KL City is a strong first step into the Malaysian market. We look forward to seeing their players with us in Spain and bringing our team to the region soon.”
Both clubs would also look to promote each other’s branding and image in Spain and Malaysia as well as explore other partnerships that can bring commercial benefit.
