VivaTech takes the stage as the world's leading event for tech and startups
19 Jun 2023 18:33
As China's soccer market becomes more lucrative each day, European clubs started to shift their attention to the eastern gold mine.
Newly crowned German champions Bayern Munich are one of them.
On Wednesday, Bayern will hold talks with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Soon they may sell shirts with player names in Chinese characters. The team will also play three friendlies against Inter Milan, Valencia and Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande in July.
"China has become the biggest and most important market with a rapidly growing affinity for football," Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge once said.
According to a study by Shay Digital Sports in September 2014, 32 European football clubs have established a presence on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter. Among these clubs, 10 from the Italian Serie A, seven each from the Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga and English Premier League.
Bayern are the leader in Germany while Schalke have more than 950,000 followers and Borussia Dortmund more than 715,000 for the top three.
And four of the 18 Bundesliga clubs - Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, Schalke and SV Hamburg - have Chinese language versions of their main websites.
Like Bayern, these clubs don't just make themselves available online. They actually travel to China for pre-season training camps and friendly matches.
Last summer, SV Hamburg and Werder Bremen both spent about a week in China with schedules full of sponsorship meetings, pre-season training, friendly matches against Chinese Super League teams and chances for Chinese fans to see their favourite players live and in person.
Related coverage
Alisports to partner International Ski Federation
15 Jun 2017
Ali expected to be Barcelona’s new sponsor
14 Nov 2016
FC Bayern’s skipper establishes column on China’s Xinhua
08 Dec 2015
FC Bayern Munchen to play the Chinese national football team
02 Apr 2019
Ali Sports launches service platform for table tennis and badminton
11 Apr 2016
More from Yutang Sports
Leading legal minds tackle athlete representation and rules for transgender athletes at LawAccord
16 Feb 2024
Wiz-Team provides smart event management system for SportAccord 2024
14 Mar 2024
Discover why SportAccord plays central role for Silvers in strategic partnerships
22 Feb 2024
Birmingham is embracing a bright future supported by extraordinary sporting legacy
17 Apr 2024
Ingmar De Vos elected as the next ASOIF President
10 Apr 2024
Yutang Sports
loading...