"Our whole idea is to eventually get more South Africans to go and play in Spain, because at the moment we are very short of that. We would love to see South Africans playing in Spain."
Those were the words of Antonio Barradas, LaLiga's Africa director, who is responsible for everything related to Spanish football in the continent.
HuffPost sat down with Barradas on Wednesday to talk about what LaLiga has in store for South African football, and how bringing FC Barcelona to South Africa to play Mamelodi Sundowns has opened the door for new possibilities.
Barcelona was a bit worried in the beginning... but when they left South Africa, they were very happy.Antonio Barradas, LaLiga Africa
"The first step in building LaLiga in Africa was to bring Barcelona. It was the champions of Spain versus champions of South Africa. So when Barca get back to Spain, they will share their South Africa experience," said Barradas.
"It was like a World Cup... Football brings people together, as we saw between Barca and Sundowns. If Barca can go there, other clubs will be knocking on our doors to play in South Africa."
Most of the [Spanish] clubs don't know Africa and South Africa.
Barradas said the fixture between Sundowns and Barca was important, as it was a way for Spain to know more about SA football — "most of the [Spanish] clubs don't know Africa and South Africa".
The intricate process of bringing Barca to the country took four months in the making, he told HuffPost.
He said LaLiga, Patrice Motsepe and Sundowns had a chance to bring Barcelona during the pre-season (July/August), but decided against it because big stars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba would not be able to make it — owing to the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.
The World Cup takes place over the course of a month and, when it ends, the football season gets underway — so big players are given extra rest for their involvement in the quadrennial tournament.
They moved the Earth to get this done.
Barradas went on to say: "Barcelona was a bit worried in the beginning, [because] in a short time they had to bring their squad. But when they left, they were very happy."
LaLiga's vision is to grow its global brand and harness potential talent in Africa.
The Spanish federation set up an office in Johannesburg two years ago, and now has two offices in Africa — the other is in Nigeria. The league says it does more than just bring teams to Africa — it is also developing football on the continent.
