BBVA ends naming rights deal as LaLiga focuses on global brand push

By Paul Nicholson

July 1 – Spain’s LaLiga has officially rebranded itself for the 2016/17 season with the ending of the BBVA title sponsorship deal. LaLiga and LaLiga2 are now the official names for the top two tiers of the league.

The Spanish bank has been LaLiga’s title sponsor for nine years, starting with the naming of the second division Liga BBVA in 2007 and expanding that to the top tier the following season while Liga Adelante became the official name for the second division.

These naming rights have now expired and LaLiga has taken the strategic branding decision to keep its name clear of sponsor naming as it aggressively builds it league brand globally and chases down the TV revenues in particular enjoyed by England’s Premier League.

Javier Tebas, LaLiga’s chief executive, has aggressively targeted the Premier League revenues in the international marketplace saying that the Spanish league will soon find parity. He bullishly said in May at a conference in Mexico City: “The Premier League is economically number one, but after a few years we will be number one. We are best to develop our players, our coaches are the best and we have made some good economic investments… the Premier League is number one economically and has a Cinderella story (Leicester City) but when we play in Europe we win.”

A statement from LaLiga about the decision to drop the naming rights sponsorship said: “The strategic decision not to have a title sponsor for the competition is a method for LaLiga to strengthen its commitment to its own brand and further extend the global reach of the best competition in world football.”

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