La Liga outfit Real Betis targets Asia for international growth

Football clubs around the world continue to place an importance on their image in the ever-growing Asian market.

La Liga club Real Betis has substantially grown their appeal and international fanbase in recent times, with plans to continue pursuing commercial opportunities outside of Spain.

Asia is integral to these plans, with Betis beginning to take advantage of their participation in one of the world’s most watched and well-supported leagues.

Before the start of last season the club signed a partnership agreement with RB88, a leading online betting company in the region, for the next three seasons.

The Seville based club does have a significant, well established international department and continues to reach new audiences in football-mad Asia.

One of their latest moves, just months ago, was to expand their digital offering in China by opening a new profile on the Weibo social network.

It is a play to expand the club’s fanbase in China, curating content that is suitable and engaging to Chinese football fans.

“From Real Betis we always work to tailor our entry strategies for each country according to the interests of local people,” Ramón Alarcón, general business director of the club, told the La Liga website.

The club has a key focus on China, considering the development and extensive work they have already conducted in the country.

“In China we have focused on cooperating in local education and progress of football players,” Alarcón noted. “We have held talks on our methodology and made agreements that are very beneficial for both parties.”

These agreements include partnering with La Liga and the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on various occasions over the past few years.

Last year, the club opened a new training school in the Chinese province of Zheijang as a part of the ‘EscuelaBetis’ programme which aims to educate through football as well as expanding the Betis brand.

Commenting at the time of the announcement of the project, Toni Ortega, director of the club’s international development, told the La Liga website: “The EscuelaBetis programme will bring together all the sports projects of the club under a single brand that transmits our values.

“We are always looking to create education, training and development of young players around the world and we hope that this brand will allow us to export the work done at home to all parts of the world.

“We have been working for more than a year to identify the best opportunities in China. Within this project, we saw a need to run both boy’s and girl’s training as one of the keys to growth.”

China, however, is not the only country in Asia that Betis has pinpointed for future growth opportunities.

In Japan, Real Betis joined La Liga’s #TodayWePlay initiative last season, which brings Japanese fans closer to the club through engaging online education classes.

Created in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute in Tokyo, different topics are discussed and presented by Betis to Japanese audiences, including the club’s history, organisation, fanbase and ties to Japan.

Other clubs such as RCD Mallorca, SD Eibar, Deprtivo Alaves, Villarreal CF, Elche CF, SD Huesca, Cádiz CF and Real Zaragoza are involved in the program.

The club’s seminar was presented by Alarcón last month, also detailing information on Spanish culture, architecture and gastronomy from cities represented in the La Liga competition.

Alongside this, late last year the club initiated a Behind the Scenes trip, through the EscuelaBetis program, for a group of Japanese students.

The students stayed in Seville for a week, visiting the club’s facilities in the process and learning about how the club’s institutions are run, the working methodology and also gaining insight from world class professionals about their varying experiences.

Betis sees the potential there and is making a conscious effort to understand the local Japanese platforms and audiences.

The club has an official profile on Twitter in Japanese which currently has just over 8,000 followers, a number which will certainly grow in the years to come.

In regards to our local teams, what can A-League clubs do to better build their brand in Asia? Get in touch with us via email or our social channels.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Football Victoria roll out PlayFootball 2.0 for 2025

Football Victoria and Cleaning Melbourne

Football Victoria has launched PlayFootball v2.0, delivering a comprehensive upgrade to its national registration platform for clubs, players and referees nationwide in 2025.

The modernised system introduces significant improvements, headlined by a complete interface overhaul prioritising accessibility and efficiency for all stakeholders.

The platform’s user-centric design promises to streamline administrative processes across all levels of the sport.

Key enhancements to PlayFootball 2.0 will allow for a modern player and official identification system that will include a sophisticated reporting module.

A notable addition is the integrated Working with Children Check workflow, reinforcing Football Australia’s commitment to child safety protocols.

Football Victoria is spearheading the transition by offering comprehensive training programmes, with both face-to-face and virtual sessions available to club administrators and association officials.

These sessions have been specifically designed to ensure optimal utilisation of the platform’s enhanced capabilities.

Football Victoria Chief Executive Officer Chris Pehlivanis has spoken on this new update and how they see it as crucial for enhancing the footballing experience for participants and clubs.

“We are looking forward to participants having a streamlined registration process while simplifying administration for our Clubs from 2025. FV will work closely with Clubs to ensure they are well supported through the transition and familiar with the benefits of the new system,” he said via press release.

A crucial update to the registration process will require participants to settle both Football Australia and Football Victoria Governing Body Regulation Fees at the point of registration through PlayFootball v2.0.

To help participants adjust to the change, however, PlayFootball is offering 4 different payment models:

  • All Fees Upfront: Club and Regulation fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Regulation Fees Upfront: FA and FV fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Scheduled Payment: FA, FV, Association and the first portion (¼) of the club fee is paid online at the point of registration
  • Subsidised Payment: Club subsidises payment and pays for Governing Body fees on the participant’s behalf at the point of registration

Player eligibility is rewarded upon the successful payment of these governing body fees.

This new program was tested by inviting four Associations, including 34 Clubs and 4,839 players to attend feedback sessions with FV and FA and beta test the new platform.

The invitation for Clubs to explore the What’s Changing Playbook has opened and for further information on all the changes coming to PlayFootball v2.0.

The platform’s updated rollout represents a significant milestone in Football Australia’s ongoing digitalisation strategy, aimed at reducing administrative burden whilst improving service delivery across the football community.

Bepro Cerberus: Revolutionising football data with optical tracking

Professional coaching has rapidly become increasingly intertwined with statistics to optimise maximum performance, driving the need for clubs to employ the latest data innovations to stay competitive.

Bepro is a football statistics and analysis company pushing the cutting edge of football technology, providing an all-in-one analytics platform for clubs across the world.

The company’s headline product – the Cerberus – an AI powered camera, allows for an extraordinary level of football data analysis when combined with Bepro’s software.

Founded in 2015, Bepro has a large reach across the world with offices in nine different countries and has served teams in the EPL, Serie A, LaLiga, Bundesliga, K-League, SPFL, and more.

Most recently, Bepro supported Spain’s ascension to the 2024 European Championship.

However, Bepro also works with a range of amateur clubs, supporting over 2,400 teams across 50 nations.

The Cerberus Camera

The fundamental core of Bepro’s philosophy is the use of video to provide context to statistics.

Bepro links all of its data work back to film recorded by either of its two FIFA grade cameras: the Fixed Camera System or the Cerberus.

Bepro’s cameras utilise AI to power optical tracking technology, enabling the camera to follow the ball without a camera operator. This allows coaches to work with their team instead of being distracted by handling equipment.

Both camera systems feature real time processing, meaning coaches and analysts can instantly assess footage. To enhance this, Bepro cameras can be accessed from multiple devices, and via Bepro’s mobile app.

Additionally, the cameras record in 4k panoramic video to capture more action in higher detail than regular cameras.

Bepro’s video service also supplies a 3D video player, providing coaches a greater level of video analysis.

Although both camera systems incorporate many of the same features, the Cerberus has the key advantage of being portable.

While many would fear a portable camera could run out of charge, the Cerberus features batteries capable of four hours continuous filming. Batteries can then be swiftly changed to ensure clubs do not miss out on valuable footage.

Furthermore, the Cerberus is a resilient platform and can continue to film excellently in poor weather and lighting conditions.

Adding to the Cerberus’ extremely versatility, it not only keenly tracks the ball, but can also film multiple perspectives at once. Through this, coaches can keep an eye on different angles of a training session or game.

Software and Data

Bepro offers three levels of software for clubs to use, ranging from a basic package for amateurs to highly sophisticated software for professionals.

When combined with Bepro’s most expansive package, the Cerberus truly shines.

This package utilises the camera’s optical tracking to gather extensive highly detailed positional and physical data of both teams, not always possible with GPS.

From 90 minutes of football, Bepro cameras can accumulate approximately three million data points, including statistics such as the distance ran, speed and sprint efforts of each individual player.

Through the package, clubs can create visualisations in their footage to showcase pressing patterns, passing triangles and more by spotlighting players or drawing lines and diagrams.

Coaches can then edit these video clips together and send them to players and staff to showcase areas for improvement or successful plays.

Conclusion

While new, the Cerberus has already made a significant impression on world football, becoming the first ever portable optical tracking camera to be certified by FIFA.

The camera passed its certification easily, illustrating its excellence by achieving “Well Above Industry Standard” in the majority of assessments, with no scores below “Above Industry Standard”.

As Bepro continues to develop itself as one of the premiere football analysis organisations, revelations such as the Cerberus will drive the sport into the future.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend