Liga de Fútbol Profesional

The Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) is the sports association overseeing professional men’s football in Spain. This type of football is commonly called soccer in the United States. It is a private sports association that oversees the first and second division clubs of professional men’s football. It is commonly called LaLiga, which is not to be confused with the first division of the association, Primera, which is also commonly called La Liga.

Primera or First Division teams as of the 2019–2020 season were FC Barcelona, Real Madrid FC, Real Betis Balonpié SAD, Levante Union Deportiva SAD, Valencia CF SAD, and Villareal CF SAD. The Second Division, Segunda División, included RC Deportivo de la Coruña SAD, Cádid CF SAD, Gimnastic Club of Tarragona SAD, UD Las Palmas SAD, AD Alcorcón SAD, and UD Almería SAD.

LFP is led by a General Assembly, which includes representatives of the football clubs and public limited sports companies, called Sociedad Anónima Deportiva (SAD), of the Primera and Segunda División. Clubs and SADs are usually represented by their presidents. A president and executive committee operate the LFP.

Background

Football was very popular in Spain early in the nineteenth century. Some teams had been around for a long time, while others were formed during the 1920s, after a second-place finish at the 1920 Olympic Games boosted national pride and greater interest across the country. Several leagues were established with varying success, until finally the arguments and threats abated, and the differing parties decided to find some common ground. Out of this came eventual consensus and a cohesive system that retaines elements of the old within a new professional structure.

Until the 1928–1929 season, Spanish football revolved around regional competition and culminated in the Spanish Championship. With the creation of La Liga, the Primera or First Division, football became a professional sport, and teams began to hire professional athletes instead of relying on amateur players. The number of teams expanded over the years, adding tiers and teams.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) organized the national league for decades. A new governing body with direct oversight and membership was needed, however, and began taking shape during the early 1980s. The Executive Committee of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), the Professional Soccer League, took office in December 1983. The statutes were approved, and the league was officially founded in July 1984. While the league was being created, Manuel Vega-Arango Alvaré of Luanco served as the first president, from 1983 to 1984. He was succeeded by Antonio Baró Armengol of Tarragona, who remained president until his death in 2001.

Overview

La Liga comprises all the soccer clubs and sports corporations of the first and second divisions in national-level official professional competitions in Spain. Its offices are located in Madrid. While it is still a part of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, it is legally autonomous in operation and organization.

Clubs in each division typically play each of the other teams twice, one home game and one away. Primera, also called La Liga, usually includes thirty-eight games each season, while the second division teams play forty-two. Each team gets three points for a win and one for a draw. No points are earned for a loss. The top four La Liga teams qualify for the Champions League. The team with the most points at the conclusion of the season is the champion.

The team in fifth place team is eligible to play in Europa League. The three lowest-ranked teams, eighteenth through twentieth, are bumped down to Segunda División, and the two highest-ranked teams in Segunda and the winner of a playoff are moved to La Liga. The four clubs at the bottom of the second division are moved to the third division, Segunda División B. Four third-division teams are moved to La Liga SmartBank.

Segunda Division comprises 20 clubs in one section. Segunda División B includes four sections of 80 clubs. Tercera División, meanwhile, has eighteen sections with a total of 360 clubs.

The all-time leading goalscorer of the league as of April 2020 with 438 goals was Lionel Messi. Playing for Barcelona, the native of Argentina also played for Argentina’s national team. Among his many other records and honors, in December 2019 he was awarded a record sixth Ballon d’Or, the France Football award for the best football player in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo, a Real Madrid standout, was in second place with 311 goals as of April 2020.

In February 2019 Pricewaterhouse Coopers presented the results of an independent study of the socioeconomic impact of professional football in Spain. The sport was found to provide 185,000 jobs within and outside the organization. For every job directly generated by LFP, four others were created in the country in industries including leather, manufacturing, and textile. Tourism, particularly sports tourism, restaurants, and bar businesses also benefited. Broadcasting of matches generated 19,415 jobs and 1.23 billion euros in bars in Spain that showed the games. Professional football contributed 4.1 billion euros in taxes. Leaders of LFP noted that the sport served as a means to share the values of Spain, and football was a great source of national pride. Most respondents believed that professional football shone a positive light on Spain. The survey found that nearly 80 percent of those surveyed felt that professional football was a positive influence socially, and almost 70 percent believed it benefited family relations. Values people felt professional football promoted included camaraderie, development, integrity, respect, responsibility, and sportsmanship.

LaLiga has also expanded its brand through e-sports. Professional esport players participate in tournaments such as the McDonald’s Virtual LaLiga eSports FIFA 18 tournament. In 2019 more than 2.8 million people tuned in to watch the Virtual LaLiga eSports Santander tournament. Thirteen thousand players competed in 9,207 matches.

Bibliography

Cassinelli, Joseph. “La Liga Posts Record Financial Figures.” Reuters, 9 May 2019, uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-spain-finances/la-liga-posts-record-financial-figures-idUKKCN1SF1L4. Accessed 10 Apr. 2020.

“How LaLiga Created a New eSports World in Two Years.” LaLiga, 24 June 2019, newsletter.laliga.es/global-futbol/how-laliga-created-new-esports-world-in-two-years. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.

“La Liga.” Football History, www.footballhistory.org/league/la-liga.html. Accessed 10 Apr. 2020.

“LaLiga.” US Club Soccer, 2019, www.usclubsoccer.org/offerings-laliga. Accessed 10 Apr. 2020.

“LaLiga’s Digital Dimension.” Sport Business, 11 June 2018, www.sportbusiness.com/2018/06/laligas-digital-dimension/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.

“Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP).” Sport Business, 8 Apr. 2020, www.sportbusiness.com/organisation/la-liga/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.

McWilliam, Rab. Life in La Liga: The Story of Spanish Club Football. Birlinn Ltd., 2019.

“The Professional Football Industry Generates 185,000 Jobs, €4.1 Billion in Taxes and a Turnover Equal to 1.37% of Spain’s GDP.” LaLiga, 28 Feb. 2019, www.laliga.com/en-GB/news/the-professional-football-industry-generates-185000-jobs-e4-1-billion-in-taxes-and-a-turnover-equal-to-1-37-of-spains-gdp. Accessed 10 Apr. 2020.

“Professional Soccer League.” Official Media Real Spanish Soccer Federation, 2020, www.rfef.es/federacion/ligas-comisiones/liga-futbol-profesional. Accessed 10 Apr. 2020.