Liga MX To Get Single Kit Maker For All Teams?
The Mexican first division, known as Liga MX, studies drastic changes in their business model to enhance competition and ensure greater recurring revenue to all clubs. Among the ideas is the exclusive production of all team uniforms from the same supplier.
The MLS and the Chinese Super League are the only big football leagues with one single supplier
Currently, USA's MLS and the Chinese Super League are the only big football leagues with one supplier for all teams. In other US sports like American Football, basketball and ice hockey, it is common that one brand makes the uniforms for all teams.
The Covid-19 pandemic drastically affected the team's finances and the centralized asset sales model. In addition to one-supplier only uniforms, the television rights, advertising signs and activations on social networks are also in the package imagined by the league.
Liga MX President Talks About Idea Of League-Wide Kit Maker
“We have to prove that the market pays more if it is negotiated by the league. If you are Pumas and earn five pesos for selling the rights to your uniform, you will not release it to me if I do not guarantee that you will earn more than five."
The big obstacle is that the big clubs accept a centralization in the agreement
"You will not even see controversy, we will ask the market what they think of the uniform of one of the three most important leagues on the continent, we will see what the market tells us. I have evidence and I am sure that the market will give us more than we currently have,” explained Mikel Arriola, executive president of Liga MX, to ESPN Deportes, Mexico.
The big obstacle, as explained by Mikel Arriola, is the fact that the big clubs accept a centralization in the agreement. The big clubs such as Club América, Tigres, PUMAS, Monterrey and Chivas Guadalajara have the most valuable contracts in the country.
There are assets that we can sell better if we centralize
“There are assets that we can sell better if we centralize. If we centralize something that is negotiated by many parties, we need to generate economies of scale and receive more than each participant receives, we are seeing which assets we can put in this basket. Uniforms, advertising, because it is urgent to return the flow of money to the teams to invest in talent, which is what is invested, in addition to the basic forces, and this to deliver the best possible to the public”, added Arriola.
Liga MX 2020-21 Kit Makers
Currently, of the 18 teams in the Liga MX, Mexican Charly Futbol supplies five teams (Atlas, Pachuca, Querétaro, Santos Laguna and Tijuana). Another national brand, Pirma, supplies four clubs (Atlético San Luís, Club León, Mazatlán and Necaxa). Nike and Puma both supply two teams, while another five suppliers have one team each.
Our Evaluation - League-Wide Kit Very Unlikely In Near Future
We think it is just "load thinking" about an idea without any further concrete steps to be taken soon - Mikel Arriola has been the executive president of the league just since December 2019.
What do you think of the president thinking about signing an exclusive kit supplier agreement for the league? Do you think chances are high that the league will get a single kit maker for all teams? Comment below.
