La Liga makes move on Asian market

Spain’s La Liga is looking to make inroads into Asian markets by staging a new pre-season competition, reports Sport Business.

The International LFP Cup, which will kick-off in 2011, was launched at the Soccerex Asia Forum in Singapore by La Liga CEO Francisco Roca Perez and Sergi Vieta of the Megapro agency.

The competition is part of a long-term strategy to increase awareness of the Spanish League in the region.

With the national team crowned World Champions and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid among the most iconic teams on the planet, Spanish football appears to be on the crest of a wave.

But the potentially lucrative markets of South East Asia are currently dominated by the English Premier League - which has run its own pre-season tournament in the region for a number of years and boasts significantly higher revenue from TV rights in the region.

“This is not about short-term,” said Francisco Roca Perez. “The real benefits are in the medium and long-term. As a league we have to promote our clubs and we have to recognise that promoting the league is not just about Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.”

The International LFP Cup will involve three La Liga teams and one local Asian team with a different host country each year.