Lhe second edition of Expansión & Marca Business Sport Forum has been launched as a major annual event for the sports industry, organized by the leading newspapers in economic and sports information and sponsored by Telefónica, Iberia, Endesa, DAZN and the Community of Madrid. The event, presented by Yanela Clavo, featured welcome speeches from Ana Isabel Pereda, director of Expansión, and Juan Ignacio Gallardo, director of MARCA. “The economic movement due to the arrival in Madrid of F1 in 2026 or the 2030 World Cup with Spain among the organizers will mean a global impact of about 15,000 million euros,” recalled the first, emphasizing in terms of figures that “In our country, the sports industry represents 3.3% of the economy at the GDP level, represents more than 400,000 direct jobs and promotes tourism, hospitality and commerce, among other sectors.“.
Pereda alluded to the topics that were going to be raised next: “Business models, investment opportunities, arrival of funds that reconfigure the sports industry, audiovisual scenario and transformation, technological platforms, cybersecurity against piracy, contribution of Artificial Intelligence to sporting activity… we are going to have exciting debates”. Gallardo, for his part, recalled that “The sports industry is nourished by two raw materials: health, as practitioners, and emotions, as spectators. This powerful industry arises around them, but the competition between products is brutal, but only those who know how to adapt to consumer habits will survive. and those who manage to carve out a space for themselves in a precious factor: time. “There are more and more possibilities to fill it, so the sports industry competes against itself and against a huge offer.”
The subsequent opening of the Forum corresponded to Fernando Molinero, general director of Sports of the CSD: “We approach sport from different points of view, but first of all as a citizen’s right. The objective of the General Administration is for as many people as possible to practice sports., fighting against sedentary lifestyle. We have 4.2 million members, but we must think of new formulas to increase that number. It is also an element of social cohesion, inclusion or equal opportunities.” The leader also recalled the recent institutional contribution to competitions such as the Solheim Cup, the women’s Vuelta a España, the Copa América sailing or F1 itself.
The main protagonist of the day, in any case, was Pau Gasol, interviewed by Estela S. Mazo and Jesús Sánchez representing Expansión and MARCA. After having broken ceilings, “not only because of his 215 centimeters, that too, but because of his record,” the former professional basketball player includes that reference now in last place on a resume that places him as president of Gasol 16 Ventures and of the Gasol Foundation, as well as as a member of the IOC Athletes Commission. “I’m in a good moment on a personal and professional level. I have wanted to transfer my DNA as an athlete to philanthropy and the world of investment, wanting to continue as a team and be part of projects and initiatives that are interesting and differentials regarding, on the one hand, sport and, on the other, health and nutrition”
Gasol has developed the way his work team works: “We already have 17 direct investments, with a strategic profile of adding value, not just being a financial investor, and we aspire to later states with more volume and impact. We have established parameters that allow us to quickly say no if a series of requirements are not met, always looking for that added value within the company. I think we already have about 300 rejected proposals in this sense. The world changes and sport has to evolve. I like to invest and support initiatives, platforms, businesses, companies, competitions… It’s a process and you have to make sure you have the right colleagues“.
Pau has also reviewed how he decided he wanted to have that business profile: “It is an important move, but as an athlete you not only have commercial and image value, but you want to be part of the growth of the companies with which you interact. Becoming ambassador, in some way. The players or athletes want part of the business… and they have the right to it.” In that sense, he sees differences with the United States: “There is a high competitive level there, but, in terms of the business scenario, much more freedom to pursue opportunities and, from what I am seeing in different sectors, fewer obstacles. That is why there are people who prefer to take the leap to fight here in a thousand battles. There is a spirit of cohesion, of adding within the competitiveness… There, those who succeed are admired and respected“You don’t envy him or wish him failure.”
In that sense, he is convinced that “it is important to have references, because they show you a path.” And, there, he alludes to Magic Johnson. “He has become a great businessman using his charisma and personality to open doors. In the Lakers he gave talks to the players, reminding us that we were in a privileged position. Then he believed that he traveled to Seattle to meet with the CEO of Starbucks: ‘I don’t know about business, but your company is doing great and I want to open franchises in low-income areas of Los Angeles.’. He opened I don’t know how many, they worked, then he worked with other great businessmen… The athlete has general admiration and generates beneficial dynamics,” Gasol said.
That, yes, finds parallels between a company and a team. “Everything is based on the same principles: work ethic, communication, level of demand, team culture, importance of diversity… We all have our objectives, that of the successful businessman to grow and become a leader in his sector , that of the high-level athlete to earn the respect of his team by being a champion. There is an ambition in common, to assume roles and develop talent. In that sense, he has also referred to Gerard Piqué: “We are different profiles. I admire his entrepreneurial spirit, but I don’t understand his entrepreneurial capacity. I watch the World Balloons, the Kings League… We try to do things our way, different, neither better nor worse. “You’re not going to do it alone, you always have to surround yourself with great teams.”
He then referred to the work of his Foundation: “We are very happy and proud of the journey, it has been ten years in Spain and 11 since we created it in the United States. The human team is the driving force. We have great relationships at all levels, joining forces with a very important partner like the IFA Group and deepening the relationship with Unicef and the WHO. We want to put childhood obesity at the center of the conversation and we are going in a direction that makes us proud, always based on scientific evidence. Medicine was my plan B, in fact I did it first at the University of Barcelona… but A turned out well.” Gasol has insisted on the objective of reducing childhood obesity: “We must improve the quality of life of the children of our country and others. We want Spain to become a leading country in reversing the overweight situation. Children’s health is in danger. It’s a delicate moment. The Mediterranean diet is lost, there is abuse of screens, the mood gets worse, the sedentary lifestyle increases… Be careful, this cannot continue like this. “We are going to work together to do something about it urgently.”
At that moment, Juan Antonio Samaranch, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, joined the conversation and firstly referred to the upcoming Paris Games: “We come from those in Tokyo and Beijing without an audience because of the covid, so they are almost necessary for the athletes to feel that heat again. We face them with great enthusiasm and responsibility. An attempt is made to take Olympicism to the streets, with the opening ceremony in the Seine, sports in the Place de la Concorde or in the Gardens of Versailles…” Gasol explained his work at the IOC: “Understanding how we can help athletes to focus in the competition and maximize what the Olympic Games are. I am also on the Ethics Commission, in the coordination of the Los Angeles 2028 Games, with the Russian and Belarusian neutral athletes… It is a quite relevant role, not just a couple of meetings a year…” Samaranch He joked there: “If we had told you everything you had to do, you wouldn’t have come.”
The leader has insisted that “the Games are not an end, but a means to transmit Olympic values to society.” For this reason, according to him, “the athletes are at the center of everything. If Pau says something it is not the same as if the IOC communicates it institutionally. All environments in the Olympic world have their athlete commission.” Regarding the cost of the Games, he has been very clear: “We are clumsy in how we explain it, because the concept of cost is an error in itself. There are, as it were, three income statements. The first is that of the organization itself, which almost always gives benefit. The second, to build new sports facilities. We expressly prohibit construction if a plan cannot be presented to last dozens of years. No more white elephant at our expense. The last one, finally, affects the city or country itself. We do not need a high-speed train for the Games. If there isn’t one, we’ll go somewhere else. In short, it is a good investment, but you have to make it thinking about what legacy it will leave.”
Gasol believes that Spanish sport is in a good moment: “We are going to have the maximum number of athletes representing us after Barcelona 92, with gender parity for the first time. We will go from Rafa, who hopefully can progress and compete, to the new talents who take over. What you experience in the Games is something very special.” Of Pau’s career, Samaranch sticks with the Olympic finals: “They were not a formality, you put them in trouble.” Gasol admires the work of Juan Antonio ” their commitment to the Olympic movement and investment in sport to improve and change things.
