Iberia becomes official sponsor of LaLiga in China

25 July 2019. - Iberia and LaLiga have signed a sponsorship agreement which will make the airline the official regional partner of the Spanish competition in China during the 2019/2020 season.

The sponsorship deal sees two of the most internationally recognised Spanish brands join forces to promote themselves alongside one another in the Asian country. Iberia and LaLiga will organise a series of events and promotional activities in China, including competitions and campaigns on social networks such as Weibo and WeChat.

The agreement is part of Iberia´s #talentoabordo project, through which the airline aims to give visibility to Spanish talent and spread it all over the world.

Meanwhile, the deal helps LaLiga to join forces with a leading brand in order to bring Chinese fans closer to the Spanish competition.

“LaLiga and its clubs have more and more followers in China, where millions of people follow the competition season by season. Partnering with some of the most internationally known Spanish brands will strengthen our image in the country and the role of Iberia as an ambassador of Spanish culture, gastronomy and sport. It is something that is in our DNA and that is one of our missions: to build bridges between countries and cultures," said Gemma Juncá, Iberia's brand and marketing director.

"China is a very important country for us and bringing closer the country's fans not only to LaLiga as a sports competition, but also to everything that surrounds it, is one of our great objectives. This is the line of our alliance with Iberia and we are certain that the coming-together of these two great brands will consolidate the work done over the last few years," said Óscar Mayo, LaLiga's director of marketing, international development and presidential cabinet.

Sergi Torrents, LaLiga’s China General Manager declared:” the alliance between two leading brands such as Iberia and LaLiga is an important step that demonstrates the firm commitment of both of them to China, and it is convinced that more companies will follow the path marked by this agreement and seek synergies and collaborative spaces to grow in the country."

Iberia opened its flight routes between Shanghai and Madrid in June 2016. With three flights a week operated by A330-200 aircraft - which have twin engines and are 15 percent more fuel efficient than similar aircraft -, it offers around 90,000 seats in this route per year. In 2018, Iberia carried 9.76 percent more passengers on its flights from Shanghai and the Spanish capital than the previous year. From Madrid, passengers coming from Shanghai can continue their trip to 23 other Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Seville and Valencia; 26 destinations in Europe such as Brussels, Nice, Venice or Lisbon, and Latin American cities such as Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo.

LaLiga has opened offices in Beijing and Shanghai since 2014, the league is committed to the development of its brand and football in the Asian country. Thanks to this work, LaLiga has become a unique platform that available to leading brands who want to associate with the excellence of Spanish football and with the image of a leading global competition.

About Iberia

Iberia is the number-one company in Spain and leader in the routes between Europe and Latin America. Together with its subsidiary, Iberia Express, and its franchisee, Iberia Regional Air Nostrum, it offers around 600 flights a day to fifty countries in Europe, America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with a fleet of 144 aircraft. In 2017, Iberia got a 4-star Skytrax rating; in 2016 and 2017 it was the most punctual airline in the world and, in 2018, the third in Europe, according to FlightStats. Iberia's hub is the Madrid airport and it is a member of the oneworld alliance, which offers more than 14,000 daily flights to nearly 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries.

About LaLiga

Founded in 1984, LaLiga (Liga de Fútbol Profesional) is a sports association comprising the 41 teams that make up the first and second divisions of professional football in Spain. LaLiga, based in Madrid, is responsible for the LaLiga Santander and LaLiga 1|2|3 leagues and the television production, which in the 2017/2018 season reached more than 2.7 billion people globally. The association also has an active foundation and was the world's first professional football league to establish a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine.