COMPETITIONS DEPARTMENT
Two seasons have gone by since the creation of LaLiga's Competitions Department, and during this time our services have continued to grow in line with LaLiga's expansion and modernisation processes.
The main objectives we set ourselves when this new department was created focused on providing more and better services to our member clubs and SADs, as well as contributing to institutional growth to transform us into the most professionalised league and to consolidate our league as the best in the world.
During this time we have advanced in that direction, increasing our presence and services in areas related to the development of competitions, whose contents are closer to the practical and technical development of competitions and fixtures, and any issues related to their sporting nature.
We can say without fear of being wrong that LaLiga is an international benchmark, a proactive institution, able to anticipate the needs and demands of elite competition.
This new structure has entailed an advancement in the sense of defining a more specialised area that enables us to better respond to the competitions´ needs and demands.
Top competition demands to be constantly updating, modernising and improving things, in order to overcome the difficulties and maintain Spanish football supremacy when competing with other leagues.
In this sense, the Competitions Department, in charge of issues related to competitions' calendars and fixture times, recording and registering of contracts and processing of players' licenses, supporting regulation licences, has created in collaboration with the Economic Control Department a modern and leading-edge IT application to enable the remote management of all the players' registration processes, to make it easier and faster for all to comply with the necessary paperwork.
Closely and deeply linked to the economic control of Clubs and SADs, this online tool will make it possible to link the expenditure limits for sporting staff established by the economic control department to the real registration of players, enabling the appropriate management of the available balance with the final paperwork that enables authorised players to participate in our competitions.
This technological renewal and updating has also affected the configuration and approval procedures for the teams' kit for the competition's fixtures. The department has developed and implemented KitSelector, a modern and exclusive IT application that replaces the old proposal, review and approval process for the team's strip, by which teams, referees, the Technical Committee of Referees and LaLiga manage and supervise all and each of the procedures for all and each of the fixtures.
This platform has been used throughout the whole season with an excellent operational and satisfaction degree, solving a large amount of operational problems and making it possible to visualise all the game's gear for the teams and the referees in a 360º view, so that the most compatible option can be chosen in each case.
Special mention needs to be given to the implementation of the Match Marshal position, which materialises an ambitious project that has been ongoing for the last two years, and that translates into a real step forward regarding the management and coordination of matches. The Match Marshal is an official with coordination responsibilities over all the organisational aspects of each fixture, able to solve conflicts, incidences, and emergencies hand in hand with those responsible for other areas.
Since December, our match marshals have been present in all and each of Liga BBVA's and Liga Adelante's competition fixtures, becoming an important player within the organisation's structure and match development, in coordination with the clubs' operational staff and the law-enforcement bodies.
Equally, and as part of the firm commitment taken on by LaLiga in terms of violence prevention, executing the responsibilities set forth by Law 19/2007, dated 11th of July, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, the match marshal is in charge of detecting and informing of behaviours that could entail a violation of those rules. Thanks to this information, and in coordination with the recently-created Security Department, LaLiga reports those behaviours to the RFEF's Competition Committee and to the State Commission against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, so that our stadiums are places where spectators can enjoy football in an environment with the highest security and respect possible.
The new broadcasting scenario since the approval of the Royal Decree on the centralised sale of broadcasting rights entails a new challenge in terms of the responsibilities and competences of the Match Marshal, in charge of supervising and watching over the compliance of the new demands that guarantee greater quality in the broadcasting of our image.
It has not been an excessively complicated season in terms of incidences and emergencies that could affect the competitions' development, and except for small exceptions caused by weather conditions, we could say the season progressed as normal.
This department continues to collaborate actively with the
We continue collaborating closely with AFEPE, the Association of Supporters' Clubs Federations, and we have carried out joint actions, fostering the communication, coexistence and tolerance within the strictest sporting spirit thanks to its sensitivity and support to violence prevention, that will help us advance in a decisive manner. Fans+Respect=Live Football is our joint slogan.
As for referees, we are constantly increasing the knowledge and capacity to propose advances, through the follow-up and analysis of referee actions, the punctuality at the beginning of the fixtures, the analysis of the minutes, and especially regarding the relationship with the Refereeing Committee for Professional Competitions via our representative in that institution, the technological communication equipment and relationship with the team's delegates.
With regard to the Services and Developments for Clubs and SADs, focused on identifying needs and promoting projects, developments and improvements in any aspect related to sport, we continue to work closely on the following areas:
- Competitions’ organisational aspects
- Protection on the training of players
- Sport tournaments for players in training
- Rules and regulation related to competitions
- Centralised services: services offered to clubs in general by LaLiga, contributing to the modernization of support tools in the sport and management arena. Mediacoach as a leading-edge tool and technological service to analyse and follow up teams and players, contributing in turn with 2 video sources for each Liga BBVA and Liga Adelante match.
With regard to international institutions, we have strengthened our presence and activity in several working groups at FIFA, UEFA and EPFL in order to promote the necessary changes for the updating and adaptation of rules and regulations, as well as championing our interests. In that sense, we have been present in all the international leagues and sport institutions that have requested our collaboration.
In order to better understand the daily needs of our Clubs and SADs, we continue to have communication channels with the different specialised departments of Clubs and SADs (sporting directors, legal services, coordinating technical secretaries for football academies, teams' delegates, medical services), organising meetings for the study, analysis and in-depth discussion of current topics, and whose conclusions allow us to promote changes in several interesting fields.
Lastly, and as part of LaLiga's nternational expansion process, we are collaborating and contributing to the development of training plans and improvement of sport competitions, whose implementation in several countries will enable us to become a benchmark in the world of sport.
Our organisational capacity, the professionals of the different areas of management, the coaches, and above all, our experience and knowledge of the most important needs and demands, is requested in many countries that wish to implement football development plans, and we are able to assess and develop training programs with them.
