LALIGA is scaling up one of the quieter initiatives it launched last season. In a press release issued on August 18, 2026, the Spanish league confirmed that the LALIGA Cities Network will broaden its activities across the 2026/27 campaign, deepening the working relationship between the league, the FEMP (Spain’s federation of municipalities and provinces), local city councils and the clubs themselves.
It is one of ten changes LALIGA has outlined for the new season, and one of the few that operates entirely off the pitch.
What the LALIGA Cities Network Actually Does
The Network was created at the end of the 2025/26 season as a structure for coordinated action between football and local government. Its expansion this season centres on three types of activity in cities that host LALIGA clubs:
- Educational programmes delivered in partnership with local institutions
- Workshops aimed at schools and community groups
- Awareness campaigns built around matchdays and club platforms
The stated purpose is to use football’s reach to combat hate, with a declared focus on racism and bullying, and to promote safer and more inclusive environments around the game.
That focus is worth stating precisely, because the Network is sometimes described more broadly than LALIGA describes it. As announced, this is a social and educational programme — not an environmental or climate initiative.
A New Protocol Against Discrimination and Harassment
Running alongside the Network, LALIGA will introduce a new Protocol Guide for the 2026/27 season covering the prevention and handling of discrimination, harassment and conduct of a sexual nature inside stadiums.
The guide gives clubs a shared framework rather than leaving each to build its own. Two of its concrete measures:
| Measure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Purple Points | Staffed contact points inside the stadium for reporting incidents |
| Purple Rooms | Private spaces for attending to people affected during a matchday |
For clubs, this means a common standard applied across all LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION grounds instead of a patchwork of individual club policies.
Fundación LALIGA: Futura Afición and Ligue d’Égalité
LALIGA’s social work extends through Fundación LALIGA, which has two updates for the new season.
Futura Afición will incorporate new educational materials produced with AEPAE, the Spanish association against bullying, targeted at preventing and addressing bullying among children and young people.
Ligue d’Égalité expands into Ethiopia in 2026/27, extending the project’s footprint in Africa. The programme works on equal access to football for girls and young women and on developing women’s leadership through the training of female coaches.
Where Sustainability Actually Sits in LALIGA’s Agenda
LALIGA does run a sustainability programme, but it is a separate track from the Cities Network — and in the 2026/27 announcement, the word “sustainability” refers primarily to financial sustainability.
Under the evolved Economic Control model, clubs will be allowed to renew one player’s contract per season even without sufficient financial fair play capacity, a measure designed to help them retain talent. Shareholders may also contribute up to €2 million toward youth academies and/or women’s football without that spending counting against the squad cost limit.
On the environmental side, LALIGA’s work runs through instruments like the Sustainable Clubs Guide — an assessment system of 99 criteria grouped into 17 impact areas — and the sustainability reporting seal developed with the General Council of Economists. Valencia CF became the first club to obtain that seal in November 2025.
What to Watch This Season
The Cities Network’s real test will be whether the expansion produces measurable activity in individual cities or remains a framework agreement. LALIGA has not published city-by-city targets or a public reporting calendar for the programme.
The 2026/27 season also brings Real Racing Club, RC Deportivo and Málaga CF back to the top flight, and six LALIGA EA SPORTS clubs will field at least one World Cup champion.
FAQ: LALIGA Cities Network
What is the LALIGA Cities Network? A collaboration framework between LALIGA, the FEMP, city councils and clubs, launched at the end of the 2025/26 season and expanded for 2026/27. It runs educational, workshop and awareness activities in cities with LALIGA clubs.
Is the LALIGA Cities Network a climate or environmental programme? No. As announced by LALIGA, its focus is combating hate — particularly racism and bullying — and promoting safer, more inclusive environments.
What are Purple Points and Purple Rooms? Measures in LALIGA’s new anti-discrimination and anti-harassment Protocol Guide: contact points for reporting incidents and private spaces for attending to affected people inside stadiums.
What is the FEMP? The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, the body that represents local councils nationally and acts as LALIGA’s institutional counterpart in the Network.
Source: LALIGA press release
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