The "exciting new dimension" the Liga F is entering

BarcelonaThe women's football league continues to take steps to grow, be sustainable, and "become independent" from other institutions like the Spanish Federation. At a time when England is attracting all of Spain's talent –Alèxia Putellas, Ona Batlle, and Mapi León have been the latest to leave–, Pau Gasol has decided to fully back the F League with an investment of 55 million euros through his company Gasol16 Ventures and the company Fortified Partners. “It was time to take another step, and for that, an economic injection was needed. The moment to invest was now,” says Beatriz Álvarez, president of the competition.

An agreement that was ratified on Monday — with the favorable vote of 12 out of the 16 Liga F clubs — in an extraordinary assembly. Both Barça and Badalona voted in favor of Pau Gasol's investment, while Espanyol has chosen to keep its vote secret, as ARA has learned. In contrast, Real Madrid has made its refusal public, detailing the proposal presented in a statement. Pau Gasol would retain a percentage of the competition's future commercial revenue (between 35% and 49%) until 2051. This is an agreement similar to the one made in men's football with CVC.

In the case of the Blaugrana club, official sources explain to this newspaper that they have not yet decided whether to join the agreement or not, a fact they will study once the conditions and implications of the operation are known. "Barça considers that it represents a strategic opportunity and understands that this proposal can bring resources and knowledge to strengthen the commercial development of the competition, improve its talent attraction capacity, and generate new revenue streams that contribute to the sustainability of the clubs in the medium and long term," they acknowledge to ARA.

The 55 million invested by Gasol — which will be distributed over the next four seasons and represents the highest private investment received by a women's football league worldwide — will be divided into three parts: 40 million will be allocated to clubs that join the agreement — who, in return, would cede a percentage of commercial revenue for 25 years —, 12 million will go to Liga F, and 3 million will be used to obtain the image rights of various players. The former player highlights the growth potential he has seen in the women's league: "It is a great opportunity, football is a global mass sport and a benchmark." The objective is "to strengthen the commercial and operational structure of Liga F, the sustainable growth and consolidation of the clubs, and the projection of the players," according to the League's statement.

Five growth avenues

It will be the same League F, together with the clubs, that will be in charge of managing the money with a program that will adapt to each of the entities. Álvarez acknowledges that they are aware that each institution has different needs – Barça does not have the same income as Badalona – and therefore the objectives will also vary according to the club.

All in all, however, with the common idea of strengthening five areas that would cover the main needs of the clubs: the fan experience on match day, sports performance (medical services, methodology, analysts...), the growing digital [presence], the improvement of the commercial and infrastructure part, and the strengthening of human resources and the structures of the entities.

Pau Gasol is committed to creating an internal structure within the women's league to develop and pursue commercial agreements. “My team and I are not here to tell the F League and the clubs what to do, we are here to contribute knowledge and perspective, and to work together to see how we can grow. We want to leverage the contacts I have in the world of sports to continue adding, building a team, and seeking avenues for growth opportunities,” says the former NBA player.

In addition, an advisory board of professional athletes will also be created with figures from national and international sports who join the agreement. “We want not only to retain talent, but also to attract it,” remarks Gasol, who assures that “investing in women's sports is a good business.” An registration period will now open in which clubs will have to decide whether to join the investment proposed by Pau Gasol. “The money is the same even if not all clubs are present. We will continue to count on the 16 teams, and we hope all of them will adhere to the agreement,” says Álvarez.

Pau Gasol's other investments

Gasol –who has already invested in the United States women's basketball league and in Bay FC, a United States women's soccer team– is experiencing intense days, as this very week he presented a new proposal from the International Olympic Committee to give $10,000 to athletes participating in the Olympic Games. The novelty was announced during the 146th session of the organization, held in Lausanne, in which Gasol was in charge of being the spokesperson, as he is part of the Olympic Committee as a representative of the athletes.

At the meeting of the F League, the evolution of the competition's audience growth was also discussed, which has reached 7.5 million viewers, an 11.2% increase compared to the previous season. In the coming days, the commercialization process for the competition's audiovisual rights for the upcoming seasons will open. All clubs, however, admit that work needs to be done, as more players are leaving for abroad each year, as has happened with Alèxia Putellas.

Such departures can negatively impact stadium attendance. In the 2024/25 season, the F League gathered nearly 400,000 spectators throughout the entire season, a 7% increase compared to the previous year, but it remained a very low figure, with an average of 1,650 fans per match. Pau Gasol's investment, according to club spokespeople, could help improve the League's level.