The first edition of ‘LALIGA Extra Time’ was recently held in Melbourne at the end of last month.
The event, organised by LALIGA, looked to bring together experts from the sports and entertainment industry in a two-panel format. It also served to introduce the new identity of LALIGA.
The LALIGA Extra Time event included the participation of Villarreal CF, EA Sports, Optus Sport and Matildas international footballer Elise Kellond-Knight.
“We are proud to have been able to publicly present here in Melbourne LALIGA’s revolutionary new identity to the biggest players in the country’s sports and entertainment industry. For us it is not just a change of symbol, but the symbol of change: with a new partner like EA SPORTS, with a profound transformation in the strategy, positioning, business, technology and audio-visual broadcasts… As we all have been able to enjoy during the first exciting matchdays of LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA Hypermotion in the season 2023/24 that recently started,” stated Glen Rolls via media release, LALIGA delegate for Australia and New Zealand.
The first panel focused on the digital transformation of football, and how partners, broadcasters and rights holders are working collaboratively to the grow the sport across the world.
Theresa Bray, EA Sports’ Head of Marketing and Communication ANZ & Emerging Markets, and Aaron Lea, Associate Director of Digital Media & Platforms at Optus Sport were involved in the panel discussion. Bray expanded on the recent partnership between LALIGA and EA Sports, as well as the ever-changing viewing habits of the younger generation. She claimed that the partnership between the two companies was exciting for EA Sports, as it brings together two global brands that have a strong focus on innovation and authenticity.
Lea explained that Optus Sport, who broadcasts LALIGA in Australia, have focused heavily on displaying the competitions across the company’s digital and social platforms in an effort to find new and increased audiences.
“LALIGA content is playing a key role in our shortform digital video strategy, and we’ve seen strong viral engagement across YouTube Shorts, Tiktok and Instagram Reels,” Lea added via media release.
The second panel focused on the future of football and the vital importance of having a well-constructed foundation in grassroots football, in order to be successful at the elite levels of the sport.
LALIGA clubs are well aware of this notion, as within the competition itself it gave the most playing time to youth players out of the top five major European leagues this past season (this equated to 17.2% of the minutes in 2022/23, according to a CIES study).
One of the LALIGA clubs with the best youth development structures across the world is Villarreal CF. In 2021, they became Europa League champions – becoming the smallest city ever to win a European trophy. The club have a strong presence within Australia, with Nano Márquez, Villarreal’s International Academies Coordinator, attesting to this.
“Australia is a very important market for Villarreal CF as we have three academies in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane all of which focus on the development and growth of the players with the hope that this contributes to the local football ecosystem as well as opening up possibilities in Spain,” he said.
The future of the women’s game was also discussed heavily through this panel section. The success of the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, was huge boost to the women’s game.
Australian international player Elise Kellond-Knight shared her experiences and expectations for the future during the event.
“The Women’s World Cup was incredible as it brought everyone together here in Australia to cheer on the Matildas and celebrate football. Spanish football has always been very technical and skilful and perhaps lack what we talk about in Australia to be ‘physical’,” she said.
“However, in the World Cup we saw a very complete Spanish team with not only the skills and technical ability, but also the physicality with the likes of Salma Paralluelo, who in my opinion played a decisive role in helping Spain lift the trophy.”
This first edition of LALIGA Extra Time event in Melbourne also featured the trophy of the “LALIGA EA SPORTS” champions and the 2023/24 Puma LALIGA ball.
