INSIDE STORY: Al Ahli to reap rewards from historic La Liga deal

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  • Breaking new ground: Al Ahli and La Liga.

    Al Ahli have gained the enviable habit of making history.

    A landmark few months has seen the Dubai outfit make their AFC Champions League final debut, narrowly losing to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande in November. This was followed by the honour of seeing homegrown forward Ahmed Khalil named the UAE’s sole recipient of the prestigious AFC Asian Player of the Year award.

    This ability to break new ground was on show again a fortnight ago when they became the first foreign club to sign a partnership with La Liga. At the competition’s HQ in Madrid and in front of president Javier Tebas, leading dignitaries from both parties sealed a two-year agreement they insisted would be mutually beneficial.

    Greater brand exposure into a region which has already proven lucrative to Spanish clubs in terms of sponsorship and television revenue was on offer on one side. For the Arabian Gulf League leaders, a detailed exchange of information with one of the globe’s premier divisions was the reward.

    “To be honest with you at the start, we didn’t think there would be a sort of programme which would see La Liga able to help us,” said Ahli chairman Abdullah Al Naboodah after a packed press conference. “But because of La Liga’s active presence in the region and opening of offices all over the world, it helped a lot their vision of being in Dubai.

    “It all started with the thought of how could the best practices of La Liga be brought to the UAE and specifically to Al Ahli. It all started with a negotiation of how this could work and what form it would take. In the end, we came to an understanding that we will do about 14 workshops which will take us probably two seasons to finish. It was very important for us to learn the best practices in La Liga.

    Al Ahli are the main providers for the UAE National Team.

    Al Ahli are the main providers for the UAE National Team.

    “Most of it is management, but there is also the technical part with the academies. You can see in the last seven or eight seasons how good the Spanish clubs are at developing the grassroots. This made us so enthusiastic about the advantages of the whole of Spanish football. We will hopefully see this during the next two seasons.”

    Links between the UAE and La Liga have grown rapidly since a study by sports advertisers Umedia in 2010 found the competition is the third most-watched sporting event in the emirates.

    Led by former Real Madrid and Malaga defender Fernando Sanz, May 2014 saw the opening of the La Liga’s first office outside of Spain in Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority. Subsequent offices have opened in Beijing, Shanghai, Johannesburg and – with Los Blancos legend Raul as director – in New York, while new working space has been procured in the Spanish capital to meet this global demand in the race against rivals, the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.

    I wish UAE players can play in La Liga from the start, like Under-15 level – Abdullah Al Naboodah

    Real Madrid have hoovered up several enormous sponsorship deals in the UAE. These are headlined by the $160 million, four-year shirt-sponsorship agreed with Emirates Airline until 2017/18 and the “long term strategic partnership” signed with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) which is rumoured to be worth up to $550m over 20 years and include help to finance the development of Santiago Bernabeu as well as naming rights.

    Fellow giants Barcelona have not missed out with Lionel Messi named as global ambassador for Dubai Expo 2020, while the process of successfully pursuing the event saw billboards promoting the bid at 10 La Liga grounds and its logo adorn the shirts of Sevilla in 2013.

    The Middle East and North Africa have also proved fruitful. The overseas TV rights for La Liga for season 2015-2016 were sold for approximately 500m (Dh2.1 billion), with Qatar’s beIN Sports agreeing to broadcast it in the United States for the next five years.

    La Liga supremo Tebas declared the relationship with Ahli will strengthen his organisation’s image in a commercially-vital part of the world.

    He said: “For La Liga, we have spent three years in the region. It is very important that the La Liga brand gets a stronger image in the area. This is why we have been working for the last few years. This agreement with Al Ahli goes in this direction.”

    Sporting rather than financial imperatives caused Ahli to approach La Liga two months ago. May will see the start of the 14 workshops on topics such as marketing, stadium security, strategy, legal affairs, injury prevention and nutrition.

    A desire to build on an already-successful academy which has produced current UAE starters Khalil, defensive midfielder Majed Hassan and winger Ismail Al Hammadi was also key.

    A training program from youth coaches in Spain will be implemented. The club’s junior sides will gain invitations to leading tournaments there, providing the opportunity to gain valuable experience playing top-class opposition.

    Arabian Gulf rivals Qatar have recently been sending youth players to play on loan in the lower leagues in Spain and Belgium. For Al Naboodah, he insisted such a supply line was not part of his club’s partnership.

    He said: “I don’t think it will be an exchange. It will more be about rubbing shoulders and playing in tournaments.

    “I wish that UAE players can play in La Liga, from the start like Under-15 level. It is not easy, but it is great if it would happen.”

    Mahdi Ali’s latest national squad which secured progression to the third round of qualifying for World Cup 2018 contained nine Ahli players. With the emphasis on youth development and several of the workshops being open to anyone involved in local football, UAE Football Association technical director Dr Belhassen Malouche praised the arrangement.

    He said: “The UAE in general is very open and has good relationships with many European football associations. Clubs now have these types of relationships, which is very good to share top level coaching and player development ideas.

    “It is also for the benefit of the national team, as clubs in the UAE are the main provider. We are very, very happy to have this type of relationship between one of our clubs in Al Ahli and a high-level competition from Europe.”

    Development is the key word when describing the deal, with neither easier access to senior La Liga stars or friendlies – like Madrid’s 4-2 loss to AC Milan in December 2014 – up for discussion at present.

    “I think the deal will be more focused on academies, rather than the first team.”

    The only doubt is the limbo into which the Memorandum of Understanding between the Pro League Committee – AGL’s governing body – and La Liga has fallen. No developments have followed since its heralded signature last June.

    Sanz, La Liga’s general director Middle East and North Africa, declared his organisation was ready to spring into action whenever required.

    He said: “We are ready for when they want to fix something with us. We have an agreement with them and we are in our best shape to do whatever they want in our agreement. We want to respect our other agreements with Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the PLC.”

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