Spain’s top professional football league, La Liga, has announced a new partnership with two of Saudi Arabia’s leading sports governing bodies. The General Sports Authority (GSA) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) last month agreed to multi-year partnership with La Liga, solidifying a widespread commitment to promoting football across the country.

The partnership introduces a host of new enhancements that aim to better streamline football in Saudi Arabia, while also improving the quality of the game. The agreement includes branding opportunities for both parties, as well as the development of an academy and talent scouting initiative, with La Liga granting SAFF the rights to develop local football academies under its name.

Yet the partnership also specifies further efforts in developing football’s outreach in the Middle East. Through technical supervision and La Liga’s vast coaching and player development expertise, improved training methods are set to become available to Saudi players, in addition to further scouting programs for professional, nonprofessional and youth players.

Adolfo Bara, La Liga’s head of sales, says, “We are not just the best league in the world, but the most popular one in the Middle East, therefore this agreement between GSA, SAFF and La Liga will undoubtedly uncover some major talents from Saudi Arabia and bring us even closer to our fans in the region.”

The agreement signifies a key step towards the goal of raising the standards of Saudi Arabian football, developing the nation’s footballing presence in line with other successful footballing outlets, notably Spain’s own dominance within the sport.

Dr. Adel M. Ezzat, SAFF president, says, “This is a fantastic opportunity to develop the game of football in Saudi Arabia. Teaming up with La Liga enables us to give the youth of Saudi a chance to develop as football players, with the hope of producing the next round of young and exciting local talent.”