Walk down the street of any Indian town or city, you are guaranteed to pass by someone wearing a Barcelona or Real Madrid shirt. If you’re lucky, you might even spot fans wearing the colours of other teams, given how rapidly the popularity of La Liga is growing throughout the country.

Jose Antonio Cachaza has been the head of La Liga operations in India since 2016. During an interview with Business Standard, he observed that while raising the profile of Spanish football there has been challenging, there has also been plenty of success.

“India is such a big country that we have no means to focus on every part. We usually focus on metropolitan India,” Cachaza admitted, naming as examples of corresponding areas Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In the past, Cachaza has also suggested that some La Liga could head to India for tournaments.

According to @LaLigaEN country head Jose Antonio Cachaza, some matches could be held in India as they were in Australia. #LaLigahttps://t.co/PvdKsNAGqO

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) May 28, 2018

While there have always been passionate followers of football throughout India, the sport has enjoyed an increased surge of interest over recent years. This means that La Liga is eager to reach such a massive audience, along with an emphasis towards engaging more directly with fans. The number of La Liga followers from India on Facebook and Twitter has grown massively.

Interestingly, 41 of the 42 clubs in the top two Spanish divisions also featured betting sponsorship on their shirts. Given that football betting has also grown phenomenally throughout India, the added exposure from such partnerships has worked out well for the bookmakers too. As for Indian sports fans, this means that, in addition to seeing the names of bookmakers popping up more frequently, they have been learning all about betting. Using comparison sites, they have been able to compare the different websites, bonus offers and more or less diverse selections of betting markets available to them.

Meanwhile, the interest from La Liga isn’t all about boosting TV audiences, getting fans more engaged via social networks, or even placing bets on games. The Spanish competition has supported numerous NGO activities in rural areas of India, and while this doesn’t add to their practical growth in the country, they regard such activities as a social responsibility.

2005: 💛🎉💙
2020: 💛🎉💙

After 14 years, @Cadiz_CFEN are back to #LaLigaSantander! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/sZoqdeviWx

— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) July 14, 2020

Likewise, clubs in Spain are just as keen to expand their reach in India, beyond just marketing their brand and selling more shirts. Over the last few years, coaches and scouts from Cadiz CF have been working closely with Indian footballers, offering training camps for players and technical workshops for coaches.

Cadiz CF recently won promotion back to La Liga for the first time since the 2005-2006 campaign. Next season they’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and all the rest. Amidst their jubilant celebrations, former Spain international Alvaro Negredo was announced as the first new signing, ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Along with the bigger clubs, some of the modest clubs like Cadiz are what make following La Liga so much fun. They will hope to follow in the footsteps of the fellow Andalusian club, Granada CF, who enjoyed a remarkable return to La Liga this season and even beat Barcelona, upsetting all the odds by finishing in the top half of the table.