Athletic Club have put a figure on their opposition to the agreement between Liga F, Gasol16 Ventures and Fortified Partners.
According to the Bilbao club, the deal could reduce the clubs’ combined net revenue by more than €100 million over its 25-year term.
The calculation appeared in a statement sent to Athletic members on Saturday, explaining the economic and legal reasons behind the club’s decision not to participate in the project.
Real Madrid had already publicly questioned the agreement on 1 July. The club revealed that the investors would receive between 35% and 49% of the competition’s future commercial revenue until June 2051.
Athletic have now explained how those percentages would be applied.
49% until the investment is recovered
According to Athletic, Gasol16 Ventures and Fortified Partners would receive 49% of the gross commercial revenue covered by the deal until they recovered their investment.
Their share would then fall to 35% and remain at that level for the rest of the agreement’s 25-year term.
Athletic consider the distribution of risk and reward unbalanced because the investors’ share would be calculated from gross revenue, before deducting the costs required to generate it.
The club also say that, once the first four years were over, teams would bear all or almost all of those costs while the investors continued to receive their percentage of turnover.
Based on those conditions, Athletic calculate that the clubs could collectively miss out on more than €100 million in net revenue over the term of the contract.
The figure cannot be independently verified. Neither the full contract nor the growth projections used by Athletic to produce their estimate have been made public.
It is also unclear which specific revenue streams form the basis on which the 49% and 35% shares would be calculated.
Forty million euros for the clubs
The agreement provides for a total investment of €55 million over four seasons, beginning in 2026/27.
Liga F presented it as an investment intended to strengthen its clubs, increase the visibility of its players and develop the competition’s own commercial and organisational capabilities.
The detailed distribution was not included in Liga F’s initial announcement. Real Madrid disclosed it when confirming their decision not to participate.
According to the Madrid club, €40 million would be distributed among the participating clubs, €12 million would go to Liga F and a further €3 million would be used to acquire the image rights of certain players.
Athletic emphasise the difference in timescale: the current clubs would receive most of the investment over four seasons, but the commercial revenue would remain committed for 25 years.
Real Madrid, Athletic and Real Sociedad
The clubs approved the agreement at the 29 June assembly by a qualified two-thirds majority. Liga F president Beatriz Álvarez subsequently confirmed that four of the 16 teams had voted against it.
Approval of the overall agreement and each club’s subsequent decision to join were separate steps.
Real Madrid, Athletic and Real Sociedad have publicly opposed the project. The identity of the fourth club that voted against it has not been officially disclosed.
Real Madrid were the first to set out the financial terms they opposed. As well as revealing the percentages and duration of the agreement, they argued that choosing not to participate should not result in economic or institutional consequences for non-participating clubs.
They also questioned how the deal would affect teams promoted to Liga F in future seasons. In Real Madrid’s view, those clubs could be bound by an agreement they had no opportunity to vote on, without receiving any of the initial funding.
Athletic share those concerns. They believe even non-participating teams could be affected because part of the competition’s collective revenue would be committed while every club continued to contribute towards Liga F’s expenses.
These potential consequences form part of the opposing clubs’ legal interpretation. The full contract is not public and there has yet to be a ruling establishing how the agreement would apply to non-participating teams or clubs promoted in future seasons.
Athletic consider further action
Athletic also say Liga F commissioned an independent legal report on the agreement but did not allow the club to examine it.
The club believe that refusal breaches their rights as a member of the association and say they are considering how to defend their interests. They have not announced legal proceedings or specified what action they may take.
Athletic stress that their opposition is not directed against investment in women’s football. Their position is that other approaches could have been considered, including the clubs financing the league’s commercial development themselves at the outset or linking the investors’ returns to the growth they actually generated.
Liga F say the arrival of Gasol16 Ventures and Fortified Partners will accelerate the competition’s growth, professionalisation and international expansion. At the time of publication, neither the league nor the investors had publicly responded to the figures and objections communicated by Athletic.
