La Liga "is bullish on India," according to Gaurav Laghate of the ECONOMIC TIMES. La Liga President Javier Tebas said that the league "is planning significant investments in the country" toward opening offices, getting ambassadors to play exhibition matches and growing the game at grassroots level to popularize the league in the country. Tebas "did not mince his words" when asked about the importance of India in his scheme of things, the impact of Brexit (or the lack of it), and "whether clubs like Barcelona or Espanyol can play" if Catalan countries pursue independence from Spain. Tebas: "India is a very important strategic market for La Liga and we hope to grow in India further and make it the biggest football league in this country. We can also help in the growth of Indian football in general." The NBA and WWE already have offices in India and La Liga "would be the next to join the list." Tebas said, "We will open offices in India by September with people fully employed by La Liga to start working toward the growth of the league in the country." He added that the league "will work closely with Indian broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India." Tebas: "We will have investment in human capital. We will also get legends like Raul (Raul Gonzalez Blanco), Puyol (Carles Puyol), Luis Figo and more to play match of legends and can also fly teams here to have exhibition matches." The third area where La Liga is planning investments in India "is at the grassroots level." While refusing to put a number to the quantum of investments, Tebas said, "We want to reach out to the underprivileged young people. It is difficult to quantify the investments at this time, but depending on the acceptance and success of these initiatives, we will figure it" (ECONOMIC TIMES, 7/5).
