LaLiga Santander reveals highlights of the 2022/23 LaLiga Season
LaLiga Santander revealed highlights of the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander season. The new season witnesses the participation of the world's biggest football stars, with enthusiasm and excitement already being reflected across stadiums in Spain and screens around the world, and new signings further fueling the competition in the most competitive European league.
Mr. Alvaro Paya, LaLiga’s representative in Qatar, said: “I am happy to be in Qatar during a period that is witnessing the final preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, which will undoubtedly be an exceptional tournament. The new season of LaLiga Santander began with great enthusiasm, and we have witnessed the fierceness of the first matches between the teams and their exceptional players. We also saw the development and utilization of broadcasting technologies that distinguish LaLiga from the rest of the European championships, immersing viewers around the world in the enthusiasm and excitement that the audience enjoys in the stadium”. He added: “Our partnership with beIN SPORTS as exclusive broadcaster was an important step towards reaching football and sports fans in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and we look forward to achieving more success and development together”.
Coverage of LaLiga Santander in MENA
The current 2022/23 season is available exclusively on beIN SPORTS, the flagship sports channel from beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”), across all 24 countries of the MENA region. All matches are accessible in three languages - Arabic, English, and French - with dedicated studios featuring beIN’s best-in-class talent on beIN SPORTS 1, PREMIUM 1, beIN 4K, and beIN SPORTS FRENCH 1. In addition to the newly launched TOD mobile app, a subsidiary company form beIN, that allows its subscribers to have access to the very best from beIN SPORTS on the go.
On beIN’s partnership with LaLiga Santander, Duncan Walkinshaw, Director of Programs at beIN MENA, noted: “beIN has been a proud broadcast partner of LaLiga Santander across the MENA region since 2006. Over the last 16+ years, we have had the pleasure of airing every kick, tackle, and goal from the biggest teams and names in Spanish football - we’re excited to continue this partnership in the coming years, providing unforgettable moments for our millions of subscribers and viewers”. He added: “To bring all the action direct to beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS NEWS linear and digital channels, our reporters are on the ground during the biggest matches, interviewing the biggest names, and ensuring beIN offers stand-out coverage. No one does football quite like us”.
New Contracts and Fierce Competition
This LaLiga Santander season is without doubt one of the most highly-anticipated campaigns in decades. Reigning champions Real Madrid made some impressive summer signings to bolster their LaLiga and UEFA Champions League winning squad, but will they be able to hold on to their title in the face of bold and ambitious moves by FC Barcelona, who are going into their first full season with club icon Xavi Hernandez at the helm.
As with each new season, LaLiga Santander has welcomed a host of exciting new signings to join long-established superstars such as 2022 Ballon d’Or favourite Karim Benzema, 2021 Golden Boy Pedri, and Joao Felix ahead of the new campaign. Champions Real Madrid quickly wrapped up the highly sought-after signings of Aurélien Tchouameni and Antonio Rüdiger, while FC Barcelona brought in a host of big names in a bid to wrestle the LaLiga Santander title back from their eternal rivals. Belgium national team lynchpin Axel Witsel has joined Diego Simeone’s squad over at Atlético de Madrid, while Real Betis beat off competition from across Europe to bring in Italian international centre-back Luiz Felipe and Sevilla FC added Isco, one of the most talented Spanish forwards of his generation.
Can Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla FC mount title challenges to rival the ElClasico rivals? Will the likes of Real Sociedad, Villarreal CF, cup champions Real Betis and sleeping giants Athletic Club and Valencia CF finally break through to be top level contenders?
New faces won’t be limited to the field either, with a number of high-profile movements in the dugout across LaLiga Santander. Ernesto Valverde and Diego Martinez are just two of the coaches with a proven track record of success returning to the Spanish top flight with Athletic Club and RCD Espanyol respectively, while FIFA World CupTM winner and former AC Milan and Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso has taken the reins at Valencia CF, to name just a few.
LaLiga continues to boast the best rising stars in the world game, too, with the likes of Gavi, already a first-team regular under Xavi at FC Barcelona and the youngest player to ever play for the Spanish national team; Eduardo Camavinga, the 19-year-old Real Madrid midfielder and favourite for the 2022 Golden Boy award; Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, a true breakout star last season; and Alexander Isak, still just 22 but already the main man up front for a Real Sociedad side chasing European success.
As with each new season, LaLiga Santander also welcomes three new teams into the fold for the 2022/23 campaign in the shape of UD Almería, Real Valladolid, and Girona FC. Ambitious UD Almería return to the top tier for the first time since 2015 after being crowned LaLiga SmartBank champions this past season, while fellow promoted sides Real Valladolid and Girona FC will be more familiar to LaLiga fans around the world having played in the top flight as recently as 2021 and 2019, respectively.
With the first of 380 nail-biting encounters already played out between CA Osasuna and Sevilla FC at the new-look El Sadar, voted the 2021 World Stadium of the Year by Stadium Database, the big games come thick and fast soon after. The historic Madrid Derby between perennial title-challengers Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid will kick off the season’s derbies in September. ElClasico, which pits together FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the most high-profile club match in world football, returns on the weekend of October 15th, while the historic and always entertaining Seville, Barcelona, and Basque derbies follow in November, December, and January, respectively.
Investment Initiatives Worth 2 Billion Euros
The 2022/23 season kick-off also marks a crucial moment for LaLiga off the pitch. Clubs across LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank are looking to take a giant step forward in their development and growth thanks to Boost LaLiga, a large-scale €2 billion investment project made possible by LaLiga’s agreement with investment fund CVC in December 2021. Clubs are already working across the board on ambitious development plans in areas such as strategy and business, infrastructure, international, brand and product development, digitalisation, and tech innovation, among others.
Meanwhile, LaLiga Tech, the LaLiga subsidiary which offers technological and innovation solutions, continues to expand its business in over 50 countries with companies from multiple sectors including broadcasters, federations, and leagues. LaLiga Tech aims to transform the sports and entertainment sector with the design and implementation of OTT services, applications, games, websites, fan engagement, the improvement and protection of content and competition management. World Padel Tour, Millicom, Sky Mexico, and MotoGP rights holders Dorna are just some of the organisations who have already adopted tech solutions developed by LaLiga Tech to digitize their operations.
Connecting with a Global Audience
Games such as these are a big factor in why LaLiga is the most followed domestic football league on social media, with over 160 million fans all over the world enjoying LaLiga content in 20 different languages across 17 different platforms. But LaLiga is also leading the way in digital outreach for international fans with Play LaLiga, the only self-produced TikTok show by a European league, the creation of the first-ever mini-app on Alipay for Chinese fans, and the launch in Indonesia and Thailand of LaLiga Pass, a self-developed OTT offering all LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank matches for fans on demand, among many other initiatives.
Banco Santander returns as the competition’s title sponsor for a final season, while Mahou San Miguel and TVM join PUMA, EA Sports, Microsoft, BKT, Sorare, Socios.com and Dapper as global sponsors ahead of the 2022/23 season.
With all the excitement, passion, drama, thrills and spills, and competitiveness from top to bottom of LaLiga Santander guaranteed on every matchday with an unbeatable and best-ever television experience, you won’t want to miss a single moment of the 2022/23 campaign, which will be available on beIN SPORTS all throughout the season. Let the games begin!
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