LaLiga makes it long-awaited return to our screens tonight and is #BackToWin to complete the 2019/2020 campaign!
Games from Spanish football’s top division will be taking place almost every day from Thursday, June 11th, until the end of next month, with the season set to close on the 26th of July.
It has been a long journey and much hard-work has gone into getting the season back on track during a very trying time for many around the globe and it is testament to LaLiga’s efforts that the season is set to be completed.
How did they make it to this point?
Stringent testing has been underway since early on in the pandemic for players at LaLiga clubs, as a motion started to be put in place to bring
LaLiga ensured that each training ground was sanitised and they would come to work individually prior to group training beginning in smaller groups on the 18th of May, where they would have separate routines and then expanding into the full squad on the first of June as the build up to the return continued.
Innovations
LaLiga will be broadcasting games like never before with virtual stands, a brand new experience which will be available to UK viewers watching LaLiga TV.
Stadiums will also be using the audio library from EA SPORTS FIFA game, which was recorded before in stadiums and has been digitally adapted so it can be implemented in real time during the matches.
There will also be brand new camera angles used by both the aerial camera and cameras within the stadium. This includes the tunnel camera which will be operate remotely rather than with a cameraman in order to comply with social distancing.
How will the lack of a crowd impact the games?
LaLiga Ambassador and former Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia believes home advantage may be lacking as games return without crowds.
“In the Bundesliga in the first couple of weeks a lot of away teams have been winning, a stadium like Ipurua where Eibar play the crowd is next to you, they make that stadium feel like a box and big teams don’t like to play there.”
“Now it’s gone because the fans aren’t there and it looks more like a training session. The teams that adapt fastest to the situation will make the most of the games,” said Garcia.
Now the fun begins
With a terrific title race and a huge battle for the champions league spots coming up it’s set to be an amazing finish to the LaLiga season!
All we know is, it’s #BackToWin.
LaLiga Also Teams Up With Spanish Government
The Spanish government, LaLiga and the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) have come together in a bid to boost and promote Spain as a safe destination for tourism and sport in a campaign that will be given considerable visibility domestically and internationally over the remaining 11 rounds of fixtures in LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank.
It is a joint campaign by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (via Turespaña), the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport (via CSD – Spanish High Council for Sport) Ministry of Health, the CEOE and LaLiga to boost the tourism and sports industries in Spain, which are both so crucial to the economy and have suffered over the last few months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Safe Sport, Safe Tourism” campaign, with the #SpainAwaitsYou hashtag, was unveiled today at LaLiga headquarters, in the presence of Isabel Oliver, the Secretary of State for Tourism; Irene Lozano, CSD president; Javier Tebas, LaLiga President; Antonio Garamendi, CEOE President; Manuel Muñiz, the Secretary of State for Global Spain; and Faustino Blanco, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
LaLiga is very aware of the opportunity and responsibility that it has as an entertainment platform that reaches over 2.7 billion people globally, which is why it will be fully supporting this initiative, whose visibility will be boosted further by a specially created logo.
LaLiga will give global visibility to the campaign through a logo that will be seen on the competition’s international broadcasts, as well as through creative pieces and posts on its social media networks (on which it has over 100 million followers), region-specific virtual perimeter advertising boards, virtualization of stadiums and digital marketing strategies, among other initiatives.
“Spain is ready to safely welcome international tourists from 1 July. We have thoroughly prepared to ensure we guarantee the highest safety standards across our whole tourism industry by rolling out over 20 uniform protocols for the entire country. We want tourists to feel confident and we are sending out a very clear message that will be amplified by this campaign: Spain is waiting for you,” said Oliver, the Secretary of State for Tourism.
CSD president Lozano said that she is aware of the effort that LaLiga has put in to ensure the competition can return safely and added that it is “time to savour the restart. A safe return has been outlined, in accordance with a protocol that will allow the competition to start up again successfully. Everyone should know about the effort that we have put in. We know that there’s no such thing as a zero risk but all of us, with our footballers leading the way, are giving our absolute best and acting responsibly and sensibly to ensure everything goes well.”
LaLiga President Tebas admitted that he feels “immensely proud that professional football can keep helping boost Spain’s visibility beyond our borders and help the country’s economy. Football and LaLiga play a key role in promoting Spain all over the world, which is why it’s so important for us to be part of this project now. At LaLiga, we’re going to do everything in our power for Spain to come out of this situation as quickly as possible.”
CEOE President Garamendi spoke about how the campaign “is an unbeatable example of how the public and private sectors can act as one to bring a country together. During such difficult times, supporting Spain as a safe destination and showcasing the pairing of tourism and sport is everyone’s responsibility and, at the new CEOE, we’re going to keep working hard so that the authorities and businesses can come through this crisis together and build a better Spain that will benefit us all.”
The tourism industry is vital to Spain. It makes up 12.3% of the country’s GDP and employs 12.7% of the total number of people signed up for social security. There is no other sector that generates so much employment and, at the same time, is a tool for social cohesion, economic development, and population retention. It is also a transversal sector that has a multiplier effect in other parts of the economy, such as trade and transport. Spain is a leading global tourist destination, has been the most competitive country in the world since 2015, according to the World Economic Forum, and is second-ranked in terms of the number of international visitors and tourism expenditure.
Spanish sport is one of the drivers of Spain’s good reputation abroad because of the level of professionalism and impressive results achieved in terms of management and sporting talent. The considerable financial impact is seen by the fact that several studies have calculated that it makes up 2% of GDP and almost 2.5% of direct, indirect and induced jobs in Spain (Funcas, The Growing Role of Sport in the Economy and Society, 2019).
LaLiga has been working hard to promote Spain for many years. In 2018, it was named an honorary ambassador of the Spain Brand in the international relations category “because of its contribution to portraying a positive image of Spain the world over through football” and “helping Spanish companies and sportspeople with the internationalisation process.”
LaLiga is also working in tandem with its sponsors to promote and support tourism. Banco Santander is a clear example of this, with their “La Remontada” campaign that seeks to reactivate businesses, consumption and tourism in Spain, reflecting values such as hard work, perseverance and confidence to overcome adversity, all essential character traits of Santander Ambassador Rafa Nadal.
