Delhi and Mumbai hosted European style fan park screenings. Former La Liga stars Luis Garcia and Frederic Kanoute attended the events in Delhi and Mumbai respectively and engaged with the fans
LaLiga, Spain’s leading football league, who launched their India office in New Delhi recently. LaLiga hosted European style live screening events in Delhi and Mumbai of the match between FC Barcelona & Real Madrid CF,which is popularly known as the ‘E l Clasico.
The match ended in a draw with some high octane action in the last minute of the game. Both cities saw unprecedented support from the fans, as they thronged to the stadiums to support their respective clubs.
Both clubs have a large fan following in India, and for the first time, their fans had a chance to experience the El Clasico in a fan park atmosphere with a football carnival focussed around the match. The evening included giant screens, food & beverage stalls as well as a number of competitions and fan engagement activities, both in Delhi (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) & Mumbai (Khar Gymkhana). To add some stardust to the events, fans got to watch the match with former LaLiga superstars, Luis Garcia (Delhi) and Frederic Kanoute (Mumbai), who attended the screenings.
LaLiga President, Javier Tebas said, “Our aim is to take LaLiga all across the world, and further establish the league as one that is global and inclusive. We feel that the most important way to grow is to be closer to our fans, and provide tem with newer, more exciting experiences. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona enjoy huge popularity in India and we feel that we owe the passionate fans of the league, a chance to experience such an event. This is a big step, and what we believe will be a great start to our journey in India.”
Luis Garcia, who played for FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in LaLiga, said “ It was a fantastic atmosphere at the screening and it was wonderful to see such enthusiasm from the crowd, It was a high intensity match and all the fans who turned out will be happy with the result at the end.”
Former Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute who attended the Mumbai screening. Kanoute said, “It was a wonderful experience watching the match with the fans, I am glad to see such tremendous support for Spanish football in India, it was an evenly fought contest and was a treat for all of us present here. Screenings as such will definitely help grow the popularity of the sport in the future”.
Rajesh Kaul, President - Distribution and Sports, Sony Pictures Networks India, LaLiga’s official broadcasters in India said, “El Clasico is among the most viewed annual sporting events in the world and we are enabling football fans who cannot watch the match live at Barcelona's Camp Nou, an opportunity to experience one of the most heavily anticipated games of the season with football legends, Luis Garcia and Frederic Kanoute, at a live match screening in Delhi & Mumbai. Fans can look forward to coming together at a single venue to watch the live broadcast of the game on a giant screen, meet the legends of LaLiga and cheer on their favorite team with friends and family.”
