Record TV ratings of China vs. South Korea

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According to statistics from CCTV Future Advertising, during the 6th match of the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualification in Asia, 124 million people in China watched the men’s international football game between China and South Korea. As the live broadcasting took up an 80% share of CCTV5’s whole day audience rating, this game definitely became CCTV5’s hottest programme on 23rd March. 

This game hit a record rating for the Asian 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and is 30% higher than the average rating of China’s 5 qualification games in 2016. The average ratings for over 4-year-old and male audiences were 4.31% and 5.29% respectively. 

Next up, China’s national team is away to Iran on 28th March and already preparations are underway. Meantime, on the 26th March, Zhang Jian, the Vice-President and Secretary-General of the Chinese Football Association, showed up in Teheran. Some media speculated that he was there for the election of a FIFA Council member. He is reported to have met with the President and former President of the Iran Football Federation (FFIRI), Mehdi Taj and Ali Kafashian.

Although Zhang Jian's trip to Iran, makes no mention of influence or international games, his election would enhance the international influence of Chinese football at a whole new level.

Source: iFeng, Dongqiudi, GoalChina

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin

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