Tottenham Hotspur bid to unlock the Chinese puzzle

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has launched a Chinese language website on Chinese internet giant Netease's web platform. The site went live in the build up to this weekend's North London derby.

The Netease Sports sites are the leading web platforms in China for football and one of the most viewed portal web sites in China.

Spurs reckons it has 45 million fans in China and has five Official Supporters Clubs in the region. The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, alongside the club's main sponsor AIA, has run coaching clinics across the Far East to promote healthy lifestyle.

The Spurs site is at Cn.tottenhamhotspur.com and the deal with Netease will see the the Chinese promote two stories a day from the site (including videos).

"Tottenham Hotspur is a club with great history and, as one of the biggest media outlets in China, Netease is glad to bring the Club closer to its fans in China, and to help Chinese fans build up a comprehensive understanding of the Club," said Yan.

Spurs has been working hard to build its global digital platforms targeting what the club calculates to be a 450 million fanbase. A Spanish-language website has launched, as well as localised social media channels in Spanish, Hindi, Malay, Indonesian and Thai, and a new YouTube channel has also debuted.

The club already has over 2 million followers on Weibo, as well as its own dedicated WeChat page and Youku channel.