Spain’s La Liga competition has been categorised as one of the top 10 organisations in the world, in regards to their use of technology in the sporting sector.
According to the latest report published by the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and Sport Technology Awards Group (STA), La Liga ranks eighth as the most important company in terms of technology.
La Liga jumped nine places in the ranking system in the latest edition this year, with F1, NBA and UEFA occupying the top 3 positions.
The global sports technology market continues to grow exponentially, to the point that it had reached an estimated value of $8 billion by the end of 2021, and is projected to reach a value of $40 billion in 2026.
The figures clearly demonstrate that the sports technology market is a thriving part of the sporting industry as a whole.
The Sports Technology Awards Group has released its annual review, in which it sets out the latest developments in the sports technology sector and draws the main conclusions.
The review, produced by the STA in collaboration with the EIS (English Institute of Sport), reports on the key changes in the sporting sector and helps high level industry executives to devise their strategies and plan their organisations more efficiently into the future.
It covers a wide variety of many aspects of sport, such as athletic performance, electronic sports, the metaverse, data and live events, among others, placing importance on the review as a vital reference document in the sphere of technology.
According to the analysis carried out by STA, technology’s power and influence over sport has become extremely significant, to the point that it affects all aspects of it: the way it is practised, consumed and how it engages fans.
A special ranking, labelled the Power List, includes companies that apply technology throughout their structures. La Liga features as the eighth most important in the classification table, just behind DAZN and the PGA.
The Power List is prepared by a panel composed of the stakeholders in The Sports Technology Annual Review. It does not focus on any area, and rather includes all aspects of the sector, thereby identifying the leading brands in the industry as a whole.
La Liga is positioned ahead of major global companies, such as the NFL, Intel and Amazon, according to the STA Group, and is described in the report produced by the STA as one of the companies that is leading the sector in terms of Innovation and Emerging Technology.
A recent deal secured by La Liga is a strong example of their innovation in this space.
La Liga and the technology company, vivo, recently signed a strategic alliance in Spain and Portugal, one that will run for the next two years.
With this, the fourth-largest smart devices brand in the world is becoming La Liga’s first official smartphone partner. This sponsorship agreement, which will run until 2025, gathers both entities’ commitment delivering excellence on entertainment and sports industry’s digital transformation.
During the signing of this agreement, vivo’s President for Spain and Portugal, Diego Xiao, stated: “La Liga and vivo share a passion for making new, unique and innovative experiences possible for our fans. In fact, a fundamental part of this collaboration, in line with the slogan of a campaign we’re launching “Cuánto más lo vives, más te une”, is the commitment of both brands to design, innovation and passion.
“2022 is going to be an exciting year for vivo in Spain. We are very proud that this country is the best performing in Europe and one of our key markets. For this reason, we would like to thank consumers for their trust, as we know that football arouses passions here and we want to share them with fans from all over the country, and the rest of the world.”
Óscar Mayo, Executive General Director at La Liga, said of the deal: “We are delighted to welcome vivo to the portfolio of La Liga sponsors. We both look for excellence in what we do. At La Liga, we work to offer football fans the best audio-visual products and we know that vivo focuses on helping its users to enjoy the greatest experiences and to achieve the ‘Perfect shot’.”
Deals such as this will continue to be the norm for La Liga, with the role and influence of technology in sport to increase into the future.
