The top flight of English football (Premier League) has once again been rated as the most popular league in China, as per a report ranking the online performance of the European clubs in the country boasting the biggest population in the world. The annual Red Card report, which is in the ninth year of its publication, analyses and ranks the popularity of European clubs, leagues and players online in China and the Premier League has emerged as the most popular league in the country. Further, west London outfit Chelsea was declared as the most popular club.
These digital awards were being judged by a specifically selected highly-rated panel of ten industry experts in China across agencies, broadcasters, media, and consultancies, with the Premier League topping the charts ahead of the likes of La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
This will certainly be a huge boost for the Premier League as China are one of the biggest markets in the world and the growing popularity of the league in the country can only be good news.
We have seen the Premier League clubs try their best to make a strong fan base in Asia in the last decade or so and this survey shows that their efforts are bearing fruits.
“To receive this Red Card award for the second year running is a great honour and testament to the Premier League and our clubs’ loyal fanbase in China,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.
“We witnessed their passionate support during last year’s successful Premier League Asia Trophy in Nanjing and Shanghai, something that has been reflected by the growing popularity of our digital coverage in the country.”
“Through our dedicated content team, we have delivered innovative and compelling content across key platforms such as Douyin and Weibo, while the tournament itself also provided a valuable opportunity to offer promotional support for PP Sports, as we officially launched our broadcast partnership with them.”
He further concluded by saying that they were committed to developing their digital presence in China and bringing the Premier League closer to millions of fans.
Even though the Premier League was ranked as the most popular league in the country, the most popular team is, however, is not a team from the Premier League. FC Barcelona came up as the most popular club in the far-east country while Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo was found to be the most popular player.
Despite that, the fans of the west London outfit will be really happy that their team has made a name for themselves now. They have really grown in stature in recent years and this will be a huge boost for them.
Frank Lampard has been using his young guns this term to leave his mark at Stamford Bridge. He has rotated the experienced stars well, alongside his young talents. With that being said, there is still a long way to go for them still. They will want to get back to winning titles in the days to come, which has been the face of the club in recent times (winners).