Projects
that inspire us
"Epigea Is set to revolutionize the stadium business"
Client: SENER
TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS STRATEGY TO REINVENT STADIUMS
Major stadiums need to maximize their profitability and diversify their use without compromising pitch quality or the fan experience. Sener, an internationally recognized engineering and technology company, set out to take this further following the success of Hypogea at the Santiago Bernabéu. The result is Epigea: a patented, universal, and fully automated solution -accessible to any stadium, new or existing- that transforms it into a multi-purpose space with daily operational potential.
To turn Epigea into a truly comprehensive, turnkey solution, Sener turned to SFA. We contribute our extensive experience in designing business models, financing plans, and stadium operational strategies: an essential layer that ensures investment returns and access to the necessary funding.
We are currently working on the analysis and potential rollout of Epigea in stadiums across the Americas, Asia and Europe.
"Committed to capitalizing on baseball's moment and cementing its growth"
Client: Liga Mexicana de Beisbol
ONGOING INSTITUTIONALIZATION FOR THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF BASEBALL
Professional baseball -affectionately known as the “King of Sports”- is undeniably one of the fastest-growing sports internationally, particularly in Asia and Latin America, driven in part by the rise of the professional league in the United States. In a landscape of fierce competition among professional sports leagues, how does baseball protect its throne? With that question in mind, one of the most important professional baseball leagues in Latin America, the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, placed its trust in SFA to support its ongoing institutionalization with a clear executive mandate: to strengthen its foundations and build steadily on the pillars that will sustain its long-term growth.
This has involved intensive legal work across multiple fronts: formalizing internal day-to-day processes, providing commercial certainty by supporting the negotiation and closing of major commercial agreements and redesigning the league’s internal governance and its relationship with member clubs. Notably, SFA has contributed its Sports & Entertainment expertise to strengthen the League’s Internal Dispute Resolution System and to develop proposals for reforming its bylaws and internal regulations, including competition and ethics rules.
At SFA, we are convinced that the institutionalization of professional baseball, backed by strong executive commitment from the leagues, will help cement baseball’s rightful place at the top of Latin American sport.
"We helped transform the Club, achieving sporting Success and full professionalization"
Client: Deportivo Toluca FC
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A STRATEGIC PLAN
Deportivo Toluca FC brought us in to provide legal advisory on the sporting side and to design and implement a major transformation process aimed at achieving the club’s objectives, both on the pitch and in the boardroom.
Our first task was to design a Strategic Plan that defined the roadmap and strategy, along with the measures needed to ensure effective implementation across every area of the organization: sporting, communication, commercial, marketing and finance.
We then supported the club through the implementation process, working closely with each department to ensure their activities stayed aligned with the approved Strategic Plan.
Winning both the 2025 Clausura and Apertura championships would not have been possible without that prior strategic restructuring, driven by senior leadership, a process in which we are proud to have played a central role.
"We built an extraordinary cultural and sporting bridge between China and Spain"
Client: Dalian Wanda Group
YOUTH TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR CHINA
Dalian Wanda Group, one of China’s leading real estate conglomerates with significant international investments, commissioned us to develop an ambitious training program for China’s top young football talent in Spain. The program was comprehensive in scope, covering not only sporting development but also academic, cultural and personal growth.
We led a project that culminated in the signing, in Beijing, of a major sports partnership agreement between Wanda and the three Spanish clubs we identified as the right fit: Atlético de Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal. Over several years, the project delivered significant brand value and international visibility in the Chinese market to all three clubs, as well as a meaningful revenue stream.
The project also paved the way for Wanda’s later involvement with Atlético de Madrid as the stadium’s title sponsor and, eventually, as a shareholder in the club following the acquisition of a stake.
"Partners in a landmark investment in Mexican football"
Client: INNOVATIO CAPITAL
INVESTMENT IN MEXICAN FOOTBALL
Football clubs in Mexico have become particularly attractive assets for investment funds and foreign capital. However, the legal and commercial environment in Mexico carries complexities that can pose significant obstacles for those looking to invest. Specialized advisory support for this type of transaction is therefore a clear market need.
In this context, SFA has established itself as a strategic partner for investors looking to enter Mexico’s sports and entertainment industry. In that role, SFA acted as advisor to Innovatio Capital in structuring the corporate framework and securing the financing required to complete a landmark asset acquisition transaction involving the top-division club Gallos Blancos de Querétaro, which currently competes in the Liga BBVA MX.
This marks the first time a foreign private equity fund has acquired 100% of the assets of a Mexican football club, including its affiliation rights (the right to be recognized as the “owner” of a football club by the League and the Federation). The process included legal due diligence, the preparation and negotiation of the asset purchase agreement, filings with the relevant football authorities, support in obtaining the corresponding clearance from the Federal Economic Competition Commission (now the National Antitrust Commission), and the negotiation and execution of various complex ancillary documents that allowed the transaction to close while providing the client with the necessary legal certainty.
We are convinced that this transaction will serve as a watershed moment for investment in Mexican football, and that its success reinforces SFA’s position as a trusted partner for both domestic and international investors who want to be part of the action when the ball starts rolling.
"Tigres UANL: building a legally sound institution to compete on and off the pitch"
Client: TIGRES UANL
LEGAL CERTAINTY AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Professional football clubs in Mexico operate in an environment of growing legal and commercial complexity. The volume of contractual relationships, spanning players, coaching staff, sponsors, media partners and football authorities, creates an ecosystem of obligations and risks that, if not managed with rigor, can undermine both a club’s operational stability and its institutional integrity.
SFA worked alongside Tigres UANL on a comprehensive legal audit and restructuring of the club’s practices and contracts across its key areas. The process began with an in-depth diagnostic that identified areas of legal exposure, contractual inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement in internal processes. Building on that diagnostic, SFA designed and implemented a restructuring that covered player and coaching staff contracts, commercial and sponsorship agreements, and the club’s operational processes, with the aim of aligning every legal relationship with best practices in professional football and equipping the institution with greater certainty, protection and efficiency in its day-to-day management.
The result was a robust contractual and operational framework that reduces exposure to legal contingencies, strengthens the club’s negotiating position with counterparties, and lays the foundation for professional and sustainable institutional management. With this project, SFA reaffirms its ability to support Mexico’s most prominent sports institutions in building legal structures commensurate with their sporting and commercial ambitions.
"Strategy and action to project and finance the Foundation's social mission"
Client: REAL MADRID FOUNDATION
STRATEGIC PLAN AND EVENTS / FUNDRAISING
The Real Madrid Foundation entrusted ZERTIOR (now SFA) with the design of its first Strategic Plan, as the central framework for its growth, strengthening and international development. Our work included formulating a new vision grounded in product innovation and geographic expansion, as well as defining an organizational, quality, financial, marketing and communications plan. We also coordinated the optimization and outsourcing process for the Foundation’s training camps, which today represent one of its primary sources of revenue.
The Foundation is now present in over 100 countries, with close to 1,500 projects and around 400,000 beneficiaries.
We also worked with the Foundation on income generation through the creation and delivery of major events. Most notably, the Corazón Classic Match, an annual charity event held at the Santiago Bernabéu pitting the Real Madrid Legends against those of another great European club, is without question the most important event the Foundation organizes in terms of attendance, experience and revenue. Equally unforgettable was “Plácido en el Alma”, also at the Bernabéu, featuring 40 world-class artists in one of the finest concerts ever held in Spain, an event we created entirely from scratch.
"This is not just a tournament; it is the most powerful tool for building connections between companies"
Client: CAJA LOS ANDES
THE LARGEST CORPORATE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN LATIN AMERICA
ZERTIOR (now SFA) has for years organized and operated the largest corporate football tournament in Latin America, linked to Caja Los Andes’ strategy and its “Mucho más que fútbol” (Much More Than Football) programme, which seeks to reach over 100,000 people through sport. Eight thousand players across nearly 850 teams from 34 cities take part in the 7-a-side tournament, the full management of which we manage.
Subsequently, in the context of a major stadium renovation aimed at improving the fan experience and increasing revenues, we worked on defining the optimal mix of uses and activities to maximize commercial value and return on investment, as well as analyzing the various existing models for the management and operation of the redeveloped stadium.
Finally, we were responsible for evaluating the management proposals submitted by a number of specialist firms, covering all relevant dimensions: commercial, operational, technical, reputational, and monitoring and control, with a particular focus on identifying risks and determining how to mitigate or eliminate them.
"Working alongside La Católica to grow revenues and enhance the stadium fan experience"
Client: UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE CHILE
STRATEGIC PLAN
In the first phase of our collaboration through ZERTIOR (now SFA), Cruzados, the company that owns La Católica, entrusted us with the development of a Strategic Plan centred on two core objectives: growing the revenues generated by the San Carlos de Apoquindo stadium, approached through a 365-day commercial vision, and unlocking the value of the club’s extensive nationwide fanbase.
Subsequently, in the context of a major stadium renovation aimed at improving the fan experience and increasing revenues, we worked on defining the optimal mix of uses and activities to maximize commercial value and return on investment, as well as analyzing the various existing models for the management and operation of the redeveloped stadium.
Finally, we were responsible for evaluating the management proposals submitted by a number of specialist firms, covering all relevant dimensions: commercial, operational, technical, reputational, and monitoring and control, with a particular focus on identifying risks and determining how to mitigate or eliminate them.
"A project to enhance the experience and social impact of the leading cultural centre in the State of Mexico"
Client: CENTRO TOLZÚ
STRATEGIC PLAN
Centro Tolzú is a one-of-a-kind cultural space and an essential gathering point in the city of Toluca for families and audiences of all ages. This century-old building was originally home to the Compañía Cervecera Victoria and, from 2009, served as the Museo Modelo de Ciencias e Industria. In 2016 it became the Centro Cultural Toluca, later rebranded as “Tolzú”.
The Board of Directors of Centro Tolzú entrusted ZERTIOR (now SFA) with the design and implementation of a Strategic Plan aimed at redefining its positioning and improving its revenues, visitor experience and overall value proposition, without losing sight of its social purpose and community impact.
The Strategic Plan maps out the key opportunity pathways, together with a phased implementation roadmap designed to develop them within a viable framework. The work was carried out by a top-tier international team, drawing on professionals from our offices in Mexico, Chile and Spain, as well as Acciona Cultura, a specialist firm in, among other areas, the development of exhibition and museum projects, and one of our partners in the design and delivery of experiential projects within the industry.