Madrid-based sports association LaLiga has launched its first ever official online shop with Fanatics, a digital sports platform and global leader in licensed sports merchandise, as part of a wide-ranging omnichannel retail and manufacturing partnership.

The Official LaLigaStore will be launched globally this summer, ahead of the start of the new season, the sports association, which is present in 41 countries, said in a media statement.

Fans will be able to find a wide selection of officially licensed shirts, training gear and accessories from LaLiga, as well as from many of the league’s leading teams. The offer will be expanded over time to include clubs from both LaLiga divisions, marking the largest assortment of LaLiga fan merchandise ever assembled.

In addition, Fanatics will become a master licensee for LaLiga consumer products, leveraging its global infrastructure and in-house manufacturing capabilities to create and distribute a range of premium, fashion-forward clothing ranges for the store’s launch.

The long-term deal marks Fanatics’ first league-wide partnership in European football, bringing the model used to great success by the major US Sports Leagues to fans of Spanish football across the world. The wide-ranging partnership encompasses e-commerce, licensing, product manufacturing and event retail, as well as the opportunity to open an official La Liga high street retail store, the press release stated.

Óscar Mayo, Executive Director of LaLiga, said: “This partnership with Fanatics will bring us even closer to the millions of fans that LaLiga has around the world and allows us to continue to expand our business ecosystem, taking the fan experience to the next level”.

Matthew Primack, SVP of International Business Affairs and Development at Fanatics, said: “This launch marks a major milestone for Fanatics with LaLiga becoming our first European football league partnership. We are confident that what we will be offering fans, alongside LaLiga, will break new ground by bringing existing fans to the home of the league and global fans to an official collective destination.

“Our extensive experience as the official retail and merchandising partner to the major US sports leagues, and many of the world’s leading club and international football teams, made this the natural next step in our continued journey to better serve sport and build a leading global digital sports platform”.