LALIGA celebrated its first-ever Retro Matchday with special activations in Japan

TOKYO, Apr. 14, 2026 /Kyodo JBN/ -- LALIGA hosted the first Retro Matchday in its history from April 10th to 13th, a pioneering initiative that turns a round of competition into a cross-cutting experience where the legacy of Spanish football took center stage.

As part of the campaign “42 legacies, 42 ways to win” and under the concept “A living legacy,” the matchday offers a look at the past from the present, connecting the history of clubs with new audiences and taking football beyond the 90 minutes.

LALIGA fans in Japan got together to celebrate this pioneer initiative in Tokyo, where Retro LALIGA jerseys, took us back to previous decades of the competition.

Japan at the center of this initiative, and the Fans as the main Legacy.

Japan played a key role in this initiative with different activations by LALIGA and its partners, U-NEXT, DAZN, EA Sports, Puma, Mahou, Panini. Tokyo hosted an exclusive event where fans could enjoy a Retro Jerseys exhibition, LALIGA, Puma and EA Sports exclusive prizes giveaways. They also had the chance to challenge EA Sports FC 26 pro players to enjoy the gaming experience, exchange retro Panini LALIGA cards, and toast to LALIGA Retro Matchday with a fresh Mahou beer.

Other promotions in collaboration with the local broadcasters and local influencers ensured that this initiative was followed by Japanese fans across all platforms.

A broadcast experience that transports fans to another era

As usual, the Retro Matchday could be followed by the Japanese fans on U-NEXT and DAZN.

Throughout the competition weekend, LALIGA’s entire audiovisual experience was transformed to support the Retro Matchday narrative, turning each game into a unique visual proposal.

Broadcasts featured graphics inspired by past decades, with a visual identity fully adapted to the retro concept. Scoreboards, transitions, lower-thirds, and graphic elements recreated the visual language of football from other eras, delivering an immersive experience for viewers.

A sponsor ecosystem aligned with the initiative

LALIGA Sponsors played a key role:

PUMA developed a special official match ball inspired by retro aesthetics and designed to fully integrate into the competition’s visual narrative.

Brands such as Mahou, Volkswagen, El Corte Inglés, Microsoft, EA SPORTS, Haier, Milka, Moeve, Luckia, and Panini are also part of the initiative, contributing from different areas to turn Retro Matchday into a global activation that connects sport, culture, and entertainment.

About LALIGA

LALIGA is the largest football ecosystem in the world. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 public limited sports companies (SADs) and clubs of LALIGA EA SPORTS and the 22 of LALIGA HYPERMOTION, and is responsible for organising professional football competitions in Spain. LALIGA has over 258 million followers globally across social networks, on 16 platforms and in 20 different languages. With its headquarters in Madrid (Spain) it has the most extensive international network of any sports property and is present in 35 countries through 8 offices. The organisation carries out its social work through its foundation FUNDACION LALIGA and was the world's first professional football league to establish a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LALIGA GENUINE Moeve.

Source: LALIGA