Lla Lliga’s subtle jibe at Premier League

On the surface it’s a well thought out campaign with community football at its heart, but you can’t help but feel there was a cheeky dig at the UK’s showpiece football event.

Spain’s top tier of football, La Liga, has become the shirt sponsor of, bear with me, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndropwllllantysiliogogogoch's Football Club – or, which I’ll refer to them as for the remainder of this article to avoid cramp in my fingers, CPD Llanfairpwll FC. 

While the team currently plays in the North Wales Coast West Division One, the fifth tier of the Welsh domestic football system (and different to the English football pyramid), you can’t help but feel the Spanish league has ‘encroached’ on home soil with its “biggest names in football” stunt.

In addition to La Liga’s new logo being emblazoned on the blue and black strip of the Anglesey club, it has also replaced the five Ll’s in the village’s name on its welcome sign with the logo too. 

Keegan Pierce, La Liga's managing director for the UK and Ireland said the league is “the largest football ecosystem in the world”, while CPD Llanfairpwll FC chair Samantha Jones-Smith said the partnership was "outstanding" for the club – which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year.

I think this is a stroke of genius from the PR bods at La Liga. While it may just be a coincidence that they’ve launched it when the UK’s feelings towards the Premier League is at its most sour over its mismanagement of VAR and ‘big 6’ favouritism (at least that’s what fans of small clubs like Fulham think), the idea to partner with a British club with the longest name in the world has been a recipe for success. Sprinkle in the opportunity to reinforce its new double ‘L’ logo via a visual stunt and add a dash of community goodwill and you get a great big PR chef’s kiss, and maybe a few more viewers switching from the Premier league, too. Well played.