Consumer Insights report
The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the European Football Benchmark from a LaLiga fan’s point of view, while at the same time showcasing the wealth of information the study has to offer. We have picked out the key aspects of the study that relate to LaLiga and packaged it in an easily digestible format.
This report focusses on the domestic fans of LaLiga (Spain), as well as Primera División fans from the emerging markets of China and the U.S.
Topics include
The Premier League is the fans’ favorite; LaLiga must catch up
Despite being off and on again during the pandemic, the Premier League is either the most followed league or second most followed league in each country surveyed. LaLiga still has a lot of room to raise more interest outside of Spain. Among the surveyed countries other than Spain, interest in LaLiga is highest in China; 56% of Chinese football fans follow LaLiga.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid are the dominant forces in LaLiga
With the outstanding success over the past few seasons, Chinese and U.S. fans have fallen in love with Real Madrid and Barcelona; 58% and 64% of fans respectively, who stated LaLiga was their favorite league, say they love Barcelona. Chinese fans also rate Real Madrid as best in class for four of the club image attributes each, including exciting football and ambition. However, overall, Atlético Madrid are the Spanish fans’ favorite club, with 62% of fans saying they either like or love them, just beating Real at 61%.
eSports is an essential part of a modern football club
Interest in eSports is getting bigger and bigger, in Spain over half (57%) of football fans are now interested in or play eSports. But outside Europe these numbers are even larger, in China 85% and the U.S. 80% of LaLiga followers either play or are interested in eSports. Further to this, over a third of LaLiga fans from each country now expect a modern football club to have an eSports team. So, any club looking to increase sponsorship opportunities or fan engagement in the Chinese or U.S. markets, eSports could provide the perfect vehicle.
Fans love clothing, automotive, and beverages brands, but show concern about betting sponsors
In Spain, clothing, automotive and beverages appear as the top industries that fans of every club would want to see sponsor their team. On the other hand, there is a concern among Spanish fans about the amount of betting sponsors, with gambling being among the least preferred sponsor industries, and already 40% saying there are too many betting sponsors.
Clubs should stand up for progressive values, but must avoid being ”political”
There is a fine balance when trying to do the right thing. Clubs must not shy away from standing up for progressive values, almost half (48%) of Spanish LaLiga fans want to see clubs take a stronger stance on issues such as discrimination. However, particularly among the older generation, fans do not want to see clubs conflate these values with political ideologies. Fans also want social media companies to make an effort and stand up to discrimination rather than it just being left up to the clubs and players to take a stand.
Introduction
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