LaLiga Nigeria on Tuesday met with a group of journalists to provide deep insights into the 2021/22 LaLiga Santander season.
YourSportsMemo was there at the event tagged “Easy Meeting LaLiga Media Day” as the LaLiga Nigeria team explained how, amongst other intriguing stories, new world class talents, the most advanced broadcast technology and long-awaited return of fans to stadiums will make the 91st season the one of the most fascinating campaigns in the competition’s history.
The most competitive of Europe’s top five leagues, LaLiga Santander, featuring the clubs with the most European trophies in history, the most technical football in the world, and the game’s biggest stars are back for the 91st campaign in the competition’s history.
This season sees the long-awaited return of fans to LaLiga stadiums across Spain, their passionate and emotional voices the perfect complement to the spectacular football being played out on the field. And with Colombian Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Camilo penning the official football-infused song for season, the stage is all set for the symphony of the beautiful game to take centre stage like never before.
A myriad of storylines set up this LaLiga Santander season as one of the most fascinating in recent memory. Will Atletico de Madrid repeat their historic title winning run from last campaign? Can Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or even Sevilla FC knock the reigning champions off the top? Is this the year that the likes of Real Sociedad, Europa League champions Villarreal CF, Real Betis, or Athletic finally break into the top level of contenders?
As with each new season, LaLiga Santander welcomes three new teams into the fold for the 2021/22 season in the shape of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, RCD Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano – three very familiar faces to LaLiga fans around the world.
And it won’t be just these new teams that will be gracing LaLiga Santander this season; we’ll also have a host of exciting new signings to join the likes of Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Jan Oblak. Stars of the global game have queued up to make the move to Spain over the past few months, including David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga to Real Madrid, Memphis Depay and Sergio Agüero to FC Barcelona, and the in-demand Copa America champion Rodrigo De Paul to champions Atletico de Madrid. Over at Sevilla FC, Erik Lamela has already made an instant impact while the addition of Rafa Mir, one of the most highly coveted young strikers in European football, will strengthen Julen Lopetegui’s aspirations to break into genuine title contention this season.
Other new names heading to pastures new within LaLiga include Takefusa Kubo, the prodigious young Japanese international who has swapped Real Madrid for RCD Mallorca on loan to link up with South Korean rising star Kang-in Lee, who has joined from Valencia CF. Algeria vice-captain Aïssa Mandi left Real Betis for Villarreal CF, while Granada replaced the Levante UD-bound Roberto Soldado with Colombian international Carlos Bacca.
And don’t forget the plethora of young talent which abounds across Spanish football this season. The highly talented 18-year-old Pedri returns for a second season at FC Barcelona fresh from being named the Best Young Player of Euro 2020, while the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde, Joao Felix, Diego Lainez, Alexander Isak, Mikel Oyarzabal, Samuel Chukwueze, Vinicius Jr, and of course the aforementioned Camavinga are all already established international superstars before the age of 25.
The season kicked off on August 13th, with Valencia CF vs Getafe CF the first of 380 unmissable fixtures through a ten-month campaign. The big games will come thick and fast too, with the historic Basque (October), Barcelona (November), Seville (November), Valencia (December) and Madrid (December) derbies scheduled for the coming months. And ElClasico, the clash which pits together Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the most watched club match in world football, returns on the weekend of October 24th. These most high-profile games will be played with PUMA’s all new ADRENALINA match ball design, while all other matches will feature the uniquely Japanese anime inspired ACCELERATE design.
International influencers such as Bruno Gagliasso, Khabi, Peter Okoye, CZN Burak, and Andres Iniesta, from as far afield as Mexico to Japan, from India to South Africa, have all marked the start of the season on their social media profiles with this distinctive new match ball. The far-reaching unboxing campaign to kick-off the new season under the hashtag #PLAYLaLigaSantander reached almost 300 million users, generating excitement and anticipation for the league with the most social media followers in the world (140 million across over 17 social media platforms) in all four corners of the globe.
Having already seen drama and surprises, thrills and spills and last-minute winners across the first matchdays of the season, the 2021/22 campaign promises an almost unprecedented degree of competitiveness, excitement, passion, and drama week in, week out, and is one you definitely won’t want to miss. And thanks to an unparalleled television experience featuring cutting-edge audiovisual technology and multi-camera signals in every broadcast, all you have to do is press #PLAYLaLigaSantander.
LaLiga Nigeria also used the occasion to reiterate its commitment to developing football in the country especially in the Women’s game and also improve fans experience.
“We want to promote them (Women) and let them know that they can equally make it through football. You can make it through football, have your name up there. Put in the work, time, and you’re disciplined, dedicated, and with the support of LaLiga, your opportunities are endless”, Desmond Chiji, LaLiga rep said.
The event was held at the Paradox Lounge & Bar in, CDM Road, Magodo, Lagos.
