European football clubs look to tap into Chinese market amid pandemic

Lionel Messi of Barcelona controls the ball during the La Liga match against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, March 7, 2020. /VCG

Despite European football being on hold amid the ongoing pandemic, their steps for greater access to China have not shown any pace of slowing down.

Spanish top-flight La Liga have announced a joint venture in China this week, the latest push for growth in the region, and German football giant, Bayern Munich, have partnered with short-video platform Douyin, or known as TikTok outside of China, for better promotion.

According to reports, the Spanish league have teamed up with Asian sports commercial firm Super Sports and Spanish broadcaster and sports rights broker Mediapro to launch a 15-year agreement for exclusive rights to sell sponsorship deals in China.

La Liga holds a 49 percent stake in the venture, while its two partners holding the majority stake.

Wu Lei of RCD Espanyol shoots on goal during the La Liga match against Madrid Atletico in Barcelona, Spain, March 1, 2020. /VCG

Last month, La Liga also partnered with Douyin, by far the biggest short-form video platform in China with over 400 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2020, to gain greater coverage in China, where it already has over a million followers.

These moves are believed to be attempts to fulfill La Liga's ambition to compete with the Premier League to lure more fans, as the latter remains the most popular football league in China.

Big Spanish clubs, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, have already had significant influence in China, and with Chinese striker Wu Lei joining once less-known RCD Espanyol last year, interest has been growing at both ends.

Wu Lei's brief debut for 12 minutes in the pitch in February in 2019 was followed by more than 40 million people in China through various online television platforms, reports say.

FC Bayern Muenchen players during a training session in Munich, Germany, May 14, 2020. /VCG

Meanwhile, German's Bayern Munich has become Douyin's first partnership with a football club on May 14.

As one of Europe's most successful football clubs, FC Bayern aim at improving the Bavarian brand in China ahead of the Bundesliga restart on May 16.

"Particularly in a time dominated by Covid-19, being able to communicate through digital platforms is important. That trend won't abate after the pandemic," a Bayern statement said.

FC Bayern launched its official Douyin account in July 2018 with short videos and interactive livestreams, and now it has nearly 800,000 followers.

Players such as Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski have also drawn thousands of fans on the platform.