Liga Nacional De Fútbol Profesional, more commonly known as “La Liga”, Spain’s top division of football, recently paid a visit to Lagos Business School (LBS) to speak to Executive MBA participants.
Javier Del Rio, La Ligas representative spoke about the Football Association’s purpose for setting up a Nigerian office. He mentioned Nigeria’s large football followership and the English Premier League (EPL) clubs with millions of ardent Nigerian fans which has piqued La Liga’s interest in the Nigerian and African market
Javier shared with EMBA 23 participants the opportunities and partnerships that have been put in place to penetrate an emerging market like Nigeria.
Here are four key lessons from his visit:
1. Partnership: – A good partnership is necessary for business growth. To expand the leagues’ reach, La Liga signed a deal with AJEAST Nigeria, the makers of Big Cola. The regional partnership with the multinational beverage company will expand their influence to a broader audience.
2. Influencers: – Notable Nigerian footballers have played in the Spanish league. As a football loving nation, understanding how to employ such individuals with a large following to endorse a league goes a long way to foster brand awareness.
3. Capitalize on Trends: – Javier stated that to gain advent followers of the Spanish football league, it is imperative to identify how to tap into the market. La Liga facilitated a football match between the Europa League champions Atletico Madrid and the Nigerian National team at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium. The game was played a few weeks before the commencement FIFA World Cup holding in Russia was an avenue to get the nation’s attention.
4. Understand the Market Space: – Before launching into a market, a feasibility study must be mapped out. Nigeria’s large youth demography is an ideal market for the football league. Furthermore, the football body understood the youth’s consumption pattern which helped in providing valuable services.
Nigeria holds a lot of possibilities for the Spanish Football Association, and in the coming years, Javier is optimistic, the Spanish football division will be one of the most watched leagues on the African continent.
Participants shared their thoughts and stated that the visit gave them new perspectives about running and managing businesses in their various sectors.
