Javier Debas He was one of the top speakers at the World Football Summit Europe 2023, and he closed the first day with a speech that discussed a number of issues directly related to LaLiga and the football economy, but also focused on what he had. To talk about what happened at the RFEF with the women’s team.
His relationship with the Federation and change of leadership: „We have to see the change. Rubialism is still there. The way of working and thinking is still there. It’s hard to believe until all those who were Rubialism are gone. It’s become. It’s politicized. It’s an issue of women’s dignity. It will rain two or three days after the World Cup final. , I posted a tweet the other day saying iceberg. Now we need to get to the bottom of what’s going on. I don’t know. They’re not capricious. The suffering and lack of dignity they and the rest of the staff suffered. When these women are in those situations, it’s because they don’t believe in anything. You It remains to be seen. Part of the iceberg. They are girls who want to be in the national team, but if they can not go, what happened is very strong, it is very strong, to think about it. There are 15 players. I decided not to go to the World Cup.”
Saudi Arabia entry this summer: „It must be said that the Saudi League is welcome to the world of football. Those are rights they have, but the other way around, I suggest they do it. As economic sustainability models do not exist within UEFA, they are not functional. They must have limited their capacity and investment somewhat. Saudi Arabia creates a league model, and attracts a tourism… At that time I told China, it is not enough to have great players to make a great league. Work hard on your competition’s brand and your clubs too. There are strategies now in the digital sector, the work that needs to be done, because they are still a little further away, at the brand level they know their club, tours, audiovisual rights … If you have players for that brand, keep growing. It has to talk about you to make a global impact. This is what I recommend for Saudi Arabia. Strong competition is good for the industry and we will see where this competition wants to go and what model it adopts.”
Economic control at tab level: „There should be. But the majority of those who compete there are from UEFA. They have more control. Those who don’t have less revenue. It’s an issue that needs to be revisited. Football today is not 15. Years ago, it changed a lot. If the football industry wants to stay together , there must be a financial fair game, because it is not certain that the companies will always be in loss. UEFA and FIFA can regulate it. There are more than 1,500 clubs and their respective players in Europe alone, and it must be sustainable.”
LaLiga Financial Status: „We have a Financial Fair Play system that works, we’re a stable league and we can sign accordingly. Some clubs could have signed something more than they did. We’re the only one with the Bundesliga. Don’t do LaLiga. The scapegoat for being down on costs is FC Barcelona, which is in recovery, And this club’s numbers are not very close to that league, matching us. The Premier, Serie A and Ligue 1 are million dollar loss leagues. We are not in that model. If the Premier is not making a loss, it will still have more signings because it generates more revenue. It is a loss by the club owners. Funded.”
Tax differences between countries: „If the European Union does not carry out fiscal harmonisation… Spain is the most financially penalized country in Europe. Italy is the least, even half in some areas. Football is very competitive in that market. I argue more than each. In the country, in this case in Spain, our product is very Know that we have to be equal to be competitive. Italy brings talent and charges roughly the same taxes. This will help us be more competitive.”
Timeshare Club Comment: „There are countries that have clubs like in Mexico and as far as I know they don’t have problems. Economically avoiding financial fair play, economic rules are not market based. In any field, not just football, when you exchange something, you have to submit a report from the auditor that it is market price. , for example, it should happen between Manchester City and Girona. It is easy to control it with UEFA. Outside of that, not so much. „We have already seen what happened between PSG and Qatar, look at Verretti, they are good. That is dangerous. You can cheat without a timeshare. If there is control, I don’t care. „
If Europe were to operate outside UEFA: „We are a league in the RFEF, independent, I am always against those who run it, we are part of them, we are an autonomous institution, but it is inside. When you enter a supranational model, you have to deal with many interests from many countries, which I don’t think UEFA will change the system, now there is ECA within it, it claims to represent the clubs, but it doesn’t because they are very few. The governing rules need to be reviewed a lot. There should be another body within UEFA, ECA is not perfect. The president of ECA is Bein. Sports and not being from PSG. There are interests in that. „Bain is buying the rights to the Champions League, the Nations League… there are many different interests. We all know who is heading the ECA, and whoever he is is putting pressure on him.”
Formation of the Union of European Clubs: „If the ECA really represents all types of European clubs, if it has governing rules and transparency, then it can be representative of the clubs of Europe. But it is not. An alternative is necessary. There are many clubs in our league. They do not compete in Europe, they should be represented. The decisions between UEFA and the ECA will affect them. Affect. Leagues represent competitions and sometimes you have to make decisions that your own clubs don’t agree with. Affecting them, the club, need a replacement, even two is not enough for me.
Difference in resources between large, medium and small clubs: „The big clubs are always there, you can’t create artificial football. No one can have the audiovisual rights of Madrid or Barcelona. At the moment the debate about how far this difference should go in European football is interesting. It’s a debate ” that should be put on the table, but not wanted, you look the other way. No, the disparities are increasing in national competitions, I’ve heard this is an issue over the years, but no one has. Solution.”
Credit to Bean Sport with the Spanish League: „They paid the first hurdle. They owe LaLiga almost 90 million euros. We have to ask the people at Bean. It’s dangerous in ecosystems. What I want to believe is that they are trying to revive us. But of course, „How are we going to do it under these conditions? That’s why I don’t want to think I’m criticizing PSG or Al-Nassr. It is a problem for someone so important to be the head of the ECA and to be at that level. Non-payment of fees.”
Confusion with Real Madrid on broadcasts: „For some years we have had more than 100 cases. Now it is in the criminal sector that has never been. It is the decision to establish a special bonus system, which is decided by the division board. Real Madrid had a previous meeting with all the clubs that complained. There was only one vote against in a secret ballot. , two abstained and 17 were in favour. It’s complicated to file a complaint against it. But it’s clear how important audiovisual distribution is. To have value for everyone, we have to think about the whole. This exclusivity that Real Madrid wants is harmful to itself. I think it’s a question of power, and it Its leader wants so much.”
LaLiga-EA Sports Partnership: „The arrival of EA Sports has forced a change. We have already planned it on a strategic and technical level. We have accelerated it with its arrival. I think it is disgusting when I look at the old now. All we are going to do is work with EA Sports and it is worth noting that we send something new. A few years ago on an audiovisual level they wanted their game to be as close to reality as possible, now we are looking for our live broadcasts to be as close to the game as possible. But you have to separate them from the fact that they are football fans. There are those who prefer the more traditional version and those who prefer the other way. .We have to be ready for that, we are football fan too there are many niches and we have to be ready for that.To stay up to date with technology and OTT we have reached the peak of selling 51% of our technology arm to a developer called Globant. As these technologies mature, you will decide what you want your matches to see, and AI will learn what your tastes are. That’s what we do. I think we are the most advanced sports competition in the world, even more so than the Americans. „Our asset, which is our audiovisual rights, will be key to maintaining its highest ranking experience.”