LALIGA sees 'enormous' potential in nation

Spanish top soccer league LALIGA is deepening its long-term commitment to China, betting on the country's vast sports market, growing fan base and untapped soccer potential as a core pillar of its global strategy.

From grassroots training to professional league development, as well as youth academies and commercial cooperation, LALIGA is positioning China as one of its most important overseas markets, backed by nearly a decade of on-the-ground presence and an expanding portfolio of partnerships with Chinese stakeholders.

"China is a strategic market for LALIGA," Juan Florit, head of soccer development at LALIGA, told China Daily during a recent interview, pointing to structural similarities between the league's development philosophy and China's long-term vision for football."China is a country that is investing in the future, strengthening its soft power through talent development. In many ways, this mirrors LALIGA's own history and growth path."

LALIGA opened its China office in 2015, one of its earliest international hubs, and has steadily broadened its footprint since then. This year marks the 10th anniversary of that presence, a milestone underscored by multiple visits to China by LALIGA President Javier Tebas in 2025 to advance cooperation with Chinese soccer institutions, including the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Chinese Professional Football League (CFL).

Those efforts reflect LALIGA's confidence in China's soccer market, which Florit said is "still at a foundational stage" but offers significant upside given the country's population, policy support and expanding fan culture. "We see very good development opportunities for Chinese football," he said. "LALIGA is willing to be a long-term partner, helping Chinese football grow and become a new star on the international stage."

That commitment was on display in early December in Beijing, where LALIGA hosted the third edition of the LALIGA EXTRATIME forum. The event brought together grassroots soccer experts to debate sustainable talent development, a model that has underpinned Spain's success in youth soccer and which LALIGA is now exporting globally.

During the forum, Florit highlighted pillars behind Spanish soccer's development model including a robust competition structure, elite promotion pathways, financial sustainability and strategic investment, inclusive development routes and high-caliber coaching teams. He said coach education has been a particular focus of cooperation with China, describing it as the most intensive of LALIGA's international training programs.

"We observed immense potential in Chinese youngsters aged 11 to 13 to become outstanding prospects, which fills us with confidence for Chinese football's future," Jose Collado, head of International Sports Projects at Sevilla FC, said during the forum. "Yet we also noted that due to academic pressures and a lack of regular competitions, some players begin missing training sessions from ages 15 or 16. Therefore, finding an effective mechanism to balance education and football to ensure young players' sustained, stable development will be pivotal to Chinese football's long-term progress."

As China pushes to strengthen its domestic sports industry and soccer ecosystem, LALIGA is positioning itself as both a technical partner and a long-term stakeholder — a strategy that underscores its belief in the scale, ambition and growth potential of China's sports market.

"We are working to promote football in the region through projects in collaboration with local institutions and entities. China is one of the key markets for LALIGA and we want to continue strengthening the relationship under the commitment to grow football in both countries," said Tebas.

The strategic intent is reinforced by a landmark four-year cooperation agreement signed in May between LALIGA and the CFL, the first such deal between the CFL and a top European soccer league. Running until 2029, the agreement covers strategic consulting, youth development, club management, audiovisual production, marketing, internationalization and business operations, opening institutional channels for sustained knowledge exchange.

Tebas, who has been appointed as the CFL's strategic consultant, said the agreement formalizes years of collaboration and reflects LALIGA's confidence in China's soccer future.

"China was one of our first overseas operations and has been a strategic market ever since. The country's football potential is enormous, and we believe LALIGA's experience can provide valuable knowledge that clubs in both countries will be able to take advantage of to strengthen their growth."

For Florit, the message is clear: LALIGA's engagement with China goes beyond branding or broadcasting rights. "We are not keeping LALIGA's best practices to ourselves," he said. "We want to share them with our partners, stand alongside them and help them move in the right direction.

"In the coming weeks and months, more cooperation initiatives will be rolled out. Our vision is to support Chinese football through short-, medium — and long-term planning."

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn