For four years, the Spanish football club Real Betis discovered that their connection to Mexico can be much stronger than the fact that they share the colors green and white. It was in 2019 when they held their first match in this territory, when facing the White Roosters of Querétaro in a friendly, and in this 2023 they are reaching a peak when they play their first Derby (against Sevilla) in Guadalajara.
“For us, Mexico is one of the top countries in terms of strategy. The presence of Andrés Guardado, who is one of our captains, helps us a lot to get closer and is a sign of how important it is for us to be in contact with all Mexicans. We want this to last for many years, that it is not a matter of a match, but that it is a link that extends much further, “says Juan Useros, director of marketing and business at Betis, in an interview with The Economist.
According to their data, Mexico has the second largest number of followers on the club’s social networks with more than 600,000, only behind Spain, and their expectation is to reach 1 million by the end of this season.
Between Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the Sevillian group has 4.9 million followers and only one photo of Andres Guardado wearing the captain’s ribbon in the match against Athletic Bilbao (on May 4) generated more than 28,000 impacts.
On that first visit in July 2019, Betis played two games on Mexican soil in a period of four days: first in Querétaro, where they won 2-0, and then in Puebla, where they lost by the same score. Andrés Guardado and Diego Lainez were his ambassadors on that tour that brought together nearly 50,000 fans in those cities.
This gave rise to two initiatives of the Betis to solidify its presence in Mexico from 2023, after the pandemic years: first, the opening of one of its academies right in Querétaro at the beginning of February; and second, the classic against Sevilla that will be played on August 2 at the Akron stadium in Guadalajara, with capacity for 46,232 spectators.
“Betis stands out for being a very nice team, we say that it is the first team of many and the second of all. This is our third friendly in Mexico, in addition to doing actions that we organize with LaLiga, positioning, generating content, having experiences with fans that we invite to Seville, meet and greets with the players, meetings with our legends, without all that work from marketing department, the approach would be very complicated, but above all, apart from that effort, the relationship that the club currently has with Andrés Guardado and recently also with Diego Lainez is very important”.
Saved came to Betis in 2017 and since then he has become a benchmark for the club, even alternating the captain’s ribbon with a historical member like Joaquín Sánchez. With the green and white colors, the midfielder who emerged from Atlas has achieved several records, such as becoming the Mexican with the most matches in Europe (since October 2022) and the one with the most victories in the Old Continent’s first division (in March 2023). .
He will be one of the Mexican ambassadors in the Derby that will be played in Guadalajara, since the other is expected to be Jesús “Tecatito” Corona on the Sevilla side. For this match, the directors of the Betis They will bring 500 t-shirts to activate the merchandising, but they hope that this will be a window to be able to establish the sale of their items in Mexico in the long term.
“Our idea is to close agreements with local distributors so that it is not only a matter of this game, but also that our merchandising can be available throughout the year, online and in physical stores, that all Mexican fans can buy without only t-shirts but different products. At the club we have more than 500 items with different licenses and not all of them, but we would like a large majority to be available to all fans in Mexico”.
Regarding the academies, the Betis It has in mind, for now, establishing three branches in our country, since in addition to the one in Querétaro, they are planning one in Guadalajara and another in Mexico City in the short term. The marketing and business director explains that the minimum cost for each academy is 20,000 euros (around 386,000 pesos), but that it can increase depending on your activity plan, since some include trips for your students to Spain.
“We started two years ago with these international sports projects. We currently have 22 in the world and our idea is to reach more than 50 in 2024. In Mexico, we have to give up space between the academies so that they do not cannibalize each other, so that none of them is harmed because students go to another. We are studying where to locate the different academies, not only in terms of territory but also potential. We have to study and see the evolution of these three academies (Querétaro, Guadalajara and CDMX) to continue growing”.
Another of the lines with which the Betis seeks to establish itself in Mexico is its sustainability project called ‘Forever Green’, created in November 2020. It is a platform that invites companies, leagues and teams to collaborate with the Spanish club in work aimed at reducing carbon emissions, promoting recycling and healthier mobility.
Among the organizations that have joined with his project are the United Nations and Amazon, and in Mexico last year the Bees of León did, current champions of the National Professional Basketball League (LNBP), who put a stamp of ‘Forever Green ‘ on his jersey to endorse his association.
“We would like all companies to join the project not only for what it means in terms of helping sustainability, but for the good of the planet. We have taken it to all sports, in Spain we also have basketball, futsal and women’s soccer. We want all territories, sports, properties and brands to be linked to ‘Forever Green’, which has also positioned us as a club, currently being the first in LaLiga and the second in Europe, behind Liverpool, to be the most sustainable in the soccer industry.
The manager also highlighted that thanks to these connections with Mexico, since 2019 they have reached agreements with companies from different branches, which are about to materialize this year: “We are working with several partners and in practically closed negotiations. I can’t say the names (of the companies), but they are in the automotive, gastronomy, beverage and other product sectors. In the end, what we offer them is the exposure of their brand, bringing them closer and generating business”.
According to figures shared by the club, Betis is currently the fourth LaLiga club in Spain with the most subscribers, exceeding 50,000, and the third team with the most assists in the season with an average of more than 50,000 viewers per game, while in social media interactions they are also fourth behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid.
With five days to go before the end of the Spanish championship, the Betis They are in sixth position and are still fighting for a place in the next Champions League or at least to continue in the Europa League, where this season they reached the round of 16 after being eliminated by Manchester United.
