Javier Tebas Bets On Agentic AI To Improve La Liga Fan Experience

La Liga is adopting Agentic Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with technology partner Globant to boost efficiency in its league operations and enhance the broadcast experience for fans. This initiative will enable broadcasters to instantly display comparable images of player actions, such as goals scored by athletes like Lamine Yamal or Kylian Mbappe, allowing for real-time visual comparisons during matches.

La Liga President Javier Tebas announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Globant, positioning La Liga as the first elite sports organization to implement agentic AI on a large scale. The primary goals of this adoption are to accelerate innovation, optimize internal processes, and improve areas including talent development, performance analysis, personalized content creation, and workflow automation.

Tebas highlighted that this partnership represents a practical and transformative step towards achieving operational excellence and creating a more modern, efficient, and fan-connected competition. Although the implementation cost was not disclosed, he described it as an investment expected to be recovered almost immediately.

The news raises several questions regarding the technology's potential impacts, such as whether it will help La Liga narrow the gap with the Premier League, reduce consumer prices, encounter short-term technological challenges similar to other AI adopters, affect energy consumption and long-term sustainability, and influence individual clubs within the league.

Currently, the agreement with Globant applies only to La Liga's league offices, as clubs have distinct AI needs focused on scouting and on-field activities, according to Tebas. This distinction addresses concerns about varying requirements across the organization.

Agentic AI is differentiated from generative AI, like ChatGPT, by its autonomous nature, where systems plan and act without constant human oversight to achieve specific objectives. These AI agents can make decisions, sequence actions, and learn from experiences to accomplish tasks set by humans.

La Liga's Agentic AI system is being developed using Globant's AI Pods subscription model, which involves teams of AI agents supervised by domain experts. The program is supported by Sportian, a specialized AI division formed through a joint venture between La Liga and Globant in 2021.

Globant also provides AI services to other major sports entities, including Formula 1, Major League Rugby, FIFA, and Adidas. Martin Umaran, Co-founder and EMEA Chairman of Globant, stated that the platform aims to enhance La Liga's existing services, reduce project timelines, and generate tangible savings in workflows.

The AI will operate within predefined parameters set by La Liga, enabling it to analyze and interact with league data to improve decision-making across various issues. For instance, it can assess weather forecasts for specific matches and provide recommendations, such as advising players on the appropriate cleats to use on game day.