The State of European Football in East Asia 2020 Full Six-Country Over 130,000 Data 168-Page Edition

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football In East Asia 2020 Full Six-country Over 130,000 data 168-page Edition

www.ganassa.jp [email protected] @ganassa_jp Version 1.1 Infosummary

Five East Asian fans Liverpool is in the top 3 out of eight support most supported clubs in an English Premier League club five of the six countries One in five we examined East Asian fans support Manchester United 62.5% Almost three out of five East Asian fans 1/5 Five percent of East Asian supporters indicate a favoured player or manager as Only three East have “followed” their favourite player one of the reasons to support a club Asian fans in 20 to another club” support the same club as their father 57.1% 15%Three Japanese in 5%One East Asian supporter in five bought More than two thirds of East Asian supporters four who support a an authentic uniform of their favourite gather information about their favourite club 75% European club also 36% over the internet in their local language. This follow a local club, club in the 2019/20 season drops drops to half for TV and slightly more but that figure than a quarter for printed media drops to slightly more than one in three in Vietnam 20% 67.5% 67.3% 50.8% 27.7% The Ganassa Report

About a year ago, in the summer of 2019, we were looking for ways to Be that as it may, it was clear that there was only one way to get the data that choices, and how support for a European club mixes with that for a local team enhance the portfolio of services we offer our clients, and decided to focus we wanted. So, we rolled up our sleeves and – as we have done several times and national teams. Overall, we believe we have successfully begun to define upon certain research. Our task was to gain a solid grasp on the behaviour of in the past – brought together a team of football brains from across Asia and the “body and soul” of Asian fans. However, this is only the beginning. A lot of the fans in the region where we work, East and Southeast Asia. started gathering information from six different countries. Beginning with lessons were learned in the making of this research, and there are already Southeast Asia, our goal was to interview hundreds of people in each country, plenty of ideas to improve it in the years to come. The first question was: “Which are the most popular clubs in each country?” approximately half of them in the streets and the other half online. We also wanted to get more information on the fans, and specifically who they are: how old they are, what jobs do they do – we wanted their full profile! It is not always easy to get the busy and somewhat shy Asian people to open Finally, we hoped to learn about their behaviour vis-a-vis their lives as up about their passion for football, but we quickly gained experience and after supporters: how do they get informed about their favourite clubs? Do they overcoming a few hiccups we cruised through the first four countries. Alas, as watch every match? Have they bought an official jersey this season? we started with the fifth, early in 2020, COVID-19 swept across the planet and we were forced to complete the surveys in China and Japan mostly online. Well, it has been said that nowadays you can find anything on the internet, so we approached our search with great optimism… only to discover that By the end of spring 2020, we had gathered over 130,000 pieces of data, basically none of the data we were looking for existed - or if it did, it was not provided by almost 5,500 European football clubs’ fans in Vietnam, Indonesia, public. Singapore, Korea Rep., China and Japan.

As some of us have worked for more than ten years as chief or managing editors in Asia, we decided to pull some strings and asked our influential friends in the region – top journalists, TV producers, heads of fan clubs, players etc. with the same result: we got some interesting opinions, but no hard data. We offer our work as our contribution to the ongoing discourse on football as a worldwide phenomenon. We hope that the leagues, clubs, media, sponsors, fans and football lovers around the world can make good use of the data we are willing to share with the community; and we are always open to ideas, comments and criticism that will allow us to come back with an even better report.Thanks to all who have worked on this project, and all who will read and utilise this data. But mostly, thanks to the Asian football fans, who found the time and were willing to tell us about themselves: the hope is that thanks to this research many will be able to serve them better - as they deserve We then organised all information into six separate reports plus a regional summary. For the most part, the data confirmed the impression that many of us who had worked in the region for several years had, but, for the first time, it gave us precise numerical details on fans tastes and behaviour. So we now Cesare Polenghi, CEO finally know for a fact that Manchester United is the most beloved club in East Ganassa Asia, that LaLiga's popularity has surpassed Serie A, that Asian fans love Higashikawa, Japan How is this possible, we wondered? We live in an age when football has finally social media (but in their own language!), that many still buy counterfeit June 25, 2020 opened its doors to data: Moneyball, Soccernomics, Soccermatics, with plenty jerseys and that in the Orient as well, Borussia Dortmund is every football of online platforms capable of dissecting every element of a football match… geek’s “second favourite club”. Cesare Polenghi is a native of Italy and resides in Japan since 1994. His career as journalist, editor Is it possible that nobody has taken the time to gather data on the most and content producer has brought him all around East Asia, where he has opened over 20 football websites in ten different countries for goal.com, football-channel.jp and football-tribe.com . As a TV important people in the game – the fans? Most interestingly perhaps, we have managed to profile reasons why fans commentator, Cesare has appeared in over 300 shows, mostly in Japan, before opening his own choose or change their favourite club, the influence parents have on such agency, Ganassa, in 2016. He lives between Tokyo and Higashikawa, in Hokkaido, Japan.

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs in East Asia Manchester United 20.3% Liverpool 13.2% Barcelona 11.6% Arsenal 10.3% Chelsea 8.1% Real Madrid 7.7% Find new data every week on Tottenham Hotspur 5.1% European Football in East Asia at: Juventus 4.9% www.ganassa.jp/tgr20 Manchester City 4.5% Milan 3.1% Bayern Munich 2.2% Inter 1.9% PSG 1.2% Borussia Dortmund 1.1% Atletico Madrid 0.9% Others 3.9% About Ganassa Our Editorial Teams About Us

At Ganassa we are a team of digital football media experts, specialized in the creation, localization, development and maintenance of websites and social media networks.

We work in Japan and across Asia with a crew of local creators and editors, and we have a close relationship with the fans and the football community.

Our mission is to create a bridge between the football cultures in Asia and those across the rest of the world. www.ganassa.jp Korea Japan Our Clients China

Vietnam

Thailand X X X X Also Available:

English Singapore Arabic Indonesia Brazilian X X X X Portuguese

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: Japan the State of Football in East Asia,” (2) that you mention Ganassa as its [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!-, we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

Four out of the five most supported clubs Atletico Madrid are in Japan are playing in the Less than one supported by 5.7% of English Premier League Japanese fan in 40 Japanese fans as a supports the same second favourite team. European club as This is the Colchoneros’ 4/5 2.3%their father 5.7%best result in East Asia Only 1.4% of Japanese fans Almost one in have bought a counterfeit 13.7%seven Japanese jersey this season fans supports 日本 Liverpool One Japanese fan out of 20 switches 1.4%75.1% of Japanese fans the club they support when gather information about their favourite club from their favourite player changes team websites in Japanese; 75.1% while only 38.5% read Three Japanese out of four who support a European club news from Internet also follow a local club sites in English

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia 5% x2©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Foreword to the Japan Report Among the distinctive countries of East Asia, Japan has once again relationships with fans that continued after their departure. Finally, proven itself to be the most unique when it comes to football a note of merit should go to PSG for an approach that was not fandom of European clubs. With 25% of fans changing their limited to football, but also created hype in the form of opening favourite team and 25% supporting “smaller clubs”, Japan offers theme cafes and pop-up stores. opportunities for everybody willing to enter its football market. The non-competitive, non-exclusive nature of the supporters, who are still willing and able to spend, means they are often interested in multiple clubs. This opens the door for any club capable of capturing the curiosity of local fans, who are avid consumers of news via TV, internet and social media – though all strictly in the Japanese language. European football is viewable online via DAZN & SKY PerfecTV subscriptions, and widely promoted alongside the local league. The LINE chat and news application dominates social media for fan interaction. Traditional media such as websites and long-form content are in decline in Japan. Some of the big winners when it comes to monetising popularity in Japan include Barcelona with Rakuten, Chelsea with Yokohama Tires and Juventus with Cygames. At the other end of the spectrum there is Mallorca, who, despite the presence of the most popular Japanese player, the young starlet Takefusa Kubo, did not make the most of their asset and failed to create a presence in Japan upon which to build a relationship with potential partners and sponsors.

With some notable exceptions, most big European clubs are working hard to keep their Japanese fans entertained, while at the same time creating synergies with possible partners and sponsors. Clubs featuring Japanese players have a huge advantage, but there are plenty of examples of those fostering a While the Japanese market is not as large as that in other Asian community despite not having a direct link with Japan. Manchester countries such as China, the inimitable passion for specific players City, for example, visited Japan in the summer of 2019 as the can create a huge opportunity for any club in Europe. Takefusa cherry on the cake of a long process of "conquering" the country, Kubo, who made Mallorca the third most popular LaLiga club on resulting in the club surpassing crosstown rivals United both on YouTube, is the latest example. Villarreal, who he will play for in the social media and in terms of number of fans. Other significant 2020/21 season, have been gifted a golden ticket to engage with a examples are Borussia Dortmund and Real Betis, two clubs that large Japanese audience, should they desire to do so. have had Japanese players and used them as catalysts to create

126,476,461 48.4 91.8% #11 in the World Years Old +0.1% annual increase

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 90.9% 99% of Population US$40,846 33mb/s per Year Cellular Speed

(over 15) Literacy2014 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Sources: Worldometers, Knoema World Data Atlas, International Telecommunication Union, Opensignal, IMF The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Survey’s Respondents

Male 31.5 93.1% #15 in the World Female Years Old Online 6.6% 100% Other 0.3% Average Age Source* Gender

Occupation Student 31% IT 12.8% Services 5.7% Business 3.8% Unemployed 3.3% Medical 3% Education 2.8% Sales 2.5% Tech 2.5% Freelancing 2.3% Other 30.3% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% *Street survey had to be canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Age of Respondents

0-5yo 1.0% 6-11yo 19.0% 17 12-14yo 24.1% Years Old 15-20yo 36.6% 21-30yo 13.0% Over 31 6.4% Average age when 10% 20% 30% 40% became a supporter Age fans started to support a European Club

2010

Peak year when most Japanese started to follow a -90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Liverpool 16.6% Barcelona 10.8% Manchester City 7.8% Arsenal 7.2% Manchester United 7% Juventus 6.5% Chelsea 5.5% Real Madrid 5% Inter 3.8% Milan 3.7% Tottenham Hotspur 3.2% Atletico Madrid 3% Bayern Munich 2% PSG 1.7% Borussia Dortmund 1.5% Other 14.7% 5% 10% 15% 20%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Liverpool 13.7% Barcelona 7.9% Real Madrid 7.9% Manchester City 7.6% Borussia Dortmund 7.1% Juventus 6.1% 40.5% of Japanese fans sympathise Atletico Madrid 5.7% with a second club Inter 4.8% Manchester United 4.8% Arsenal 24.9% 4.5% of Japanese fans sympathise with a second and a third club Chelsea 4.2% Bayern Munich 4% PSG 3.4% 13.2% of Japanese fans sympathise with Tottenham Hotspur 2.9% a second, a third and a fourth club Milan 2.7% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do you support any other European Football Club in other leagues? Which teams? (up to three) ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported Leagues (by club)

EPL 50.6%

LaLiga 21.1%

Serie A 18.2%

Bundesliga 5%

Ligue 1 2%

Others 3.1%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

1.7% 1.8% 64.7%

Family Friends Player or Manager 38.8% 30.6% 21.3%

Playstyle History Other

Father is not interested in football 66.8% Mother

Supports different team from father 19.1% Doesn't have / know mother 3.2% Supports same team as mother Supports same team as father 1.8% 2.3% Supports different team from mother Doesn't have / know father 9.4% 11.8%

Mother is not interested in football 85.6% Father

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another club Liverpool 25.3% Barcelona 12.6% 77.9% Manchester C. 12.1% Real Madrid 10.9% Arsenal 7.5% Manchester United 10.3% Barcelona 7.5% Milan 10.3% Real Madrid 5.7% Arsenal 8.6% PSG 4% 22.1% Tottenham Hotspur 4% Chelsea 6.3% Borussia Dortmund 3.4% Bayern Munich 5.7% Manchester United 3.4% Borussia Dortmund 5.7% Switched Did not Switch Other 27.1% Other 29.6%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Fell in love with another club 29.9% 6-11yo 2.3% Favourite player changed club 22.4% Fell in love with a player and supported his club 14.9% 12-14yo 8.1% Favourite manager changed club 7.5% 15-20yo 38.2% Disliked how the club is managed 5.7% Club supported was playing boring football 5.7% 21-30yo 26% Lack of results 3.4% Disliked the manager 1.7% over 31yo 25.4% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 8.8%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Have you ever changed the European Football Club you support? If yes, why, at what age and which club did you used to support before? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Media

75.1% 75.1% 38.5% 47.8%

Internet News Social Media Internet News Social Media (local language) (local language) (foreign language) (foreign language)

24.3% 35.3% 4.8%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

*Respondents could give multiple answers The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Where do you get news about your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Watching your Favourite Club Most Games 38.5%

Every Game 18.6%

None 2.8%

Few Games 14.6% Some Games 25.5%

Purchased official jersey 23.6% Did not purchase jersey 75.0% Purchased counterfeit jersey 1.4%

Mildly Mostly 23.1% 33.9%

Not at all 10.8% Fully 56.5% Fully Follow a local club and the local league 32.1%

Follow the National Team Not at all 8.9% Mostly Mildly 18.6% 16.0%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story “Once a supporter, always a supporter”: the platitude that you Taking into account the fact that Liverpool never played in Japan support your chosen team for your whole life is still true in most during the Toyota Cup era – and so were unable to take advantage parts of the world, but there are places where it doesn’t ring quite of the huge media exposure the European champions received so true. In Japan, for example, our survey shows there’s more every December until 2004 – their popularity is remarkable. room than average for clubs who want to “tempt” people to switch Similarly, it’s noteworthy that AC Milan, which travelled to Japan their favourite team. The fidelity rate is lower than average (77.9% five times in 14 years, has lost more than half of its supporters in vs 86.3%), with various reasons that could encourage people to recent years, sinking from 6% to their current 3.7%. adopt a new team.

Liverpool increased their Japanese fan base by 5.6%, moving from 11% to 16.6%. On this same theme, 22.4% of all switching fans admit they did so because their favourite player changed club. Given that Minamino’s former club RB Salzburg received very little attention due to its peripheral position on the European football map, his giant leap from the Austrian Bundesliga to the then European Champions has surely served to encourage many fans to watch the team’s games, even when kick-off times come at hugely Another interesting issue is raised when looking at the age Similarly to Korea, Japan surprisingly acts differently compared to unsociable hours. distribution of the “infidelities”. Compared to the other countries in the general trend of the survey, with Liverpool (16.6%) the most our survey, the phenomenon is more widespread throughout the 25% supported team, followed by Barcelona (10.8%) and Manchester Japanese Supporters who have various age categories. It is most common in the age range 15-20, City (7.8%). Manchester United, which used to be the dominant club 24% but with a lower share (38.2%) compared to other countries. This in Asia, has a relatively small share (7%), despite the two-year Switched to another club means the habit of switching clubs is also prevalent amongst adult sojourn of Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa (albeit during an 23% and mature supporters, with more than half of the fans who admittedly tumultuous time) and United’s glorious appearance in 22.1% changed their team being over 21. This is a rate that no other the 1999 Toyota Cup final in Tokyo. 22% surveyed country even came close to.

Speaking of Japanese players in Europe, it is reasonable to 21% Are the youngest Japanese fans becoming more loyal to their assume that Takumi Minamino’s arrival at Anfield in January 2020 chosen team? It’s too early to say, but, if so, Manchester City looks created more interest and will produce even more in the future if 20% 19.5% likely to benefit the most, as it is the most supported club among his performances satisfy the expectations of those around him. Under-21 fans, slightly overtaking Liverpool (13% to 12.3%), even What can be said for sure is that 25.3% of fans who admitted to Under 21 Fans All Japanese Fans without the help of signing a Japanese player. switching their favourite club opted for Liverpool: meaning

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Local Voices Of the 40 million people people living in the Greater Tokyo area, conditions I return to Italy twice a year to keep up with new obstacle when it is time to make the big step into professional Manuel Belleri is one of the few who has played European football coaching courses and AC Milan’s vision. Some academies don’t football. at the highest level, with eight seasons under his belt in Serie A, have a resident technical director sent by AC Milan, in which case back when Italian football was the most competitive on the planet. somebody travels from Italy every 3-4 months to assess the “So far, I am very happy with the work we are doing here. Today he is technical director at the AC Milan Academy in Tokyo, facilities and coaches, and also to pass on new coaching Especially now that I can speak and understand Japanese, I really and spends his days happily passing on his knowledge to very- principles and ideas.” like living in Tokyo. It is a great city, and there is a lot to learn and eager-to-learn Japanese children. explore. The food is excellent too, and it is easy to keep in shape. We asked about the other pre-requisites to becoming licensed and Though one never knows what the future holds, for now I can say opening an academy. “The most challenging factor is to find the that coming here was a good decision, and I am totally satisfied right football pitch,” Manuel replied. “Ideally, an academy would be with my experience in Japan with the AC Milan Academy”. able to use a full size pitch, either with natural or artificial grass, but in some cases we need to make exceptions. In Tokyo, for example, due to the exorbitant value of land, it is basically impossible to find a full size pitch in town, so we have to settle for good quality futsal pitches.”

We then enquired as to the important factors required to make an academy successful – especially considering the fierce competition, with many other European clubs opening football schools in Japan and other countries in Asia. “In Tokyo, since the parents and children are usually very busy, accessibility is We asked Manuel to help us understand how a model soccer paramount,” Manuel explained. “The quality and size of the pitch is school in Asia works, and our chat started with an explanation of of course also a factor, but the main element is perhaps the how AC Milan franchises its brand to Japan. “It is actually very presence of a European technical director. Not only do we bring simple,” the former Lazio defender explained. “AC Milan sells the our experience, but we also embody the hopes of these young right to use the AC Milan Academy brand to a local investor, players, who work so hard to one day play in Europe. We are a bit offering the opportunity to develop a project related to youth like a gateway to their dreams…” football but also the chance to co-operate with the club on other local activations and possibly sponsorships. AC Milan might also Finally, we asked Manuel to tell us something about those young support the academy by sending legends over for events, or by footballers. “They are quite amazing,” he replied happily. “They are inviting local young players to Italy for a guided tour of the incredibly dedicated and hard working, and their football skills are facilities at Milanello, to summer camps or even trials. just as good as those of the children in Europe. They are also very good learners, their overall attitude is very positive, and so it is a ”As a technical director, I work directly for AC Milan. There are joy to coach them. The only disadvantage they might have when local coaches who I select and train to work alongside me, but compared to the young players back in Italy is that their physical they are hired and paid by our Japanese partner. Under normal stature is usually smaller, something that could become an

Most Fans in Japan UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Liverpool 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Manchester C. 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Arsenal 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Manchester U. 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Juventus 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Chelsea 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Real Madrid 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Inter 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Milan 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

With the Cooperation of: Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton, Stuart Woodward and Mario Kawata.

Special Thanks to: Federico Casotti, Teppei Takano, Dan Orlowitz, Shimada-san, Manuel Belleri, Emanuele Larese, and Kazushi Uehara.

Pictures by: Dan Orlowitz, Cesare Polenghi, Emanuele Larese, Chelsea FC and AC Milan Academy Tokyo

Specifics: The total number of valid forms used to compile the 2020 Ganassa Report report is 5457. Interviews were conducted in the streets and online in six different countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea Rep., Japan and China. Street interviews were conducted mostly at university campuses and during work breaks in areas where office workers have lunch. The utmost effort was put into interviewing people of both genders and of every age. Online data was acquired with the cooperation of reliable regional websites, Facebook groups, Twitter and Weibo accounts and with the help of influencer’s accounts. Great care was put into selecting unbiased sources and in checking the reliability of the data. A comparison between street and online data was used to confirm the consistency of the data. Confidence Level (95%) and Margin of Error (±3%) were kept within professional standards. When data had the same values, alphabetical order was used to tiebreak. The terminology in questions about watching matches (All, Most, Some, Few, None) was explained to interviewees by using respectively the following values: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, 0%. The terminology in questions about following local football (Fully, Mostly, Mildly, Not at All) was explained to interviewees by using the following values: 100% ,70%, 35% and 0% respectively.

Copyrights and Disclaimer: Logos and emblems are protected by copyright belonging to the respective owners. We believe that the use of low- resolution images in this report may qualify as fair use under the Japanese law. Use of the logos here does not imply endorsement of the organisation by Ganassa LLC, nor vice versa. This is a non-profit, freely distributed document. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Ganassa LLC. Data contained in this document can freely be reproduced, by quoting the full name of the report: “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia” and the URL “www.ganassa.jp”. Version JP2020.1.x © Ganassa LLC 2020, Japan

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia”, (2) that you mention Ganassa as its China [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!- we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

The majority of female Chinese fans The three most Fifteen percent of the support a LaLiga club Chinese fans who switched supported clubs club did so to become an in China play in Arsenal fan the English Premier League

15%More than half of the Chinese fans sympathize Almost three Chinese fans out with at least two European clubs of five own an original jersey of their favourite 中国 European club

A favourite player or manager is given as the 54.6% 59% TV shows are the primary news source main reason for supporting a about their favourite club for club for nearly 70% of the Chinese fans almost four out of five Chinese supporters

46.6%Almost half of the Chinese supporters who follow European football are also hard core fans of a local club

68.1% The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia 78% ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Foreword to the China Report In terms of sheer numbers, China has the most fans in the world games in the middle of the night, purchasing hefty stadium tickets Top LaLiga clubs have also been involved in big operations in and there is an eager passion for football, which remains a for Summer Tours, and traveling to European countries in order to China: for example, in November 2018, Barcelona unveiled its only favourite sport despite the national teams underperforming in the live the “local fan” experience: the stadium tour, a visit to the Experience Center outside of Spain in Hainan province. The last two decades. Since 2013, “The Game" has been supported and official merchandising store, and so on. complex includes a 4,000m2 museum (the largest for any football actively promoted by the Chinese Government through the club outside of its own country), a megastore, an area for establishment of youth academies and the purchase of restaurants and an academy – the latter operating since the broadcasting rights for European league matches to be shown on summer of 2017. national television – all towards preparation for an expected World Cup hosting bid in 2030. Real Madrid have been leading the way in youth development through their academies. Their facility in Guangzhou, in The Chinese Super League has also attracted interest outside the partnership with the top local Chinese club Evergrande, features country, and local clubs have a strong following; however, China 50 full-size pitches, 2,500 players and 24 Real Madrid youth still lacks the football history and embedded culture of its coaches who are permanently based in the People’s Republic. European counterparts. For all the above reasons, it is no surprise that, as in the rest of Asia, many Chinese have become dedicated supporters of top English, Spanish, Italian and German clubs.Interestingly, fans show variances in preferences with Arsenal is a prime example of a European club that values the regard to different regions around the vast territory. For example, Chinese market and which has proactively engaged with it. They when gathering the data for this survey we confirmed that, due to set up an office in Shanghai, sell membership cards directly in the history of TV broadcast choices, Cantonese-speakers in the China, hired a professional reporter working for Titan Sports in south are often fans of EPL teams, while Mandarin-speakers are London, and have opened up Arsenal-themed entertainment more likely to support Serie A clubs. venues. With regard to taking advantage of sponsorship opportunities, Manchester United boasted five Chinese partners this season, with many big-name clubs also backed by Chinese Finally, the Bundesliga is working consistently at promoting its local-market sponsors. Most EPL and several Serie A, Bundesliga clubs and matches, and has recently consolidated its long-term and LaLiga clubs signed deals with betting companies from China. strategy by partnering up with Douyin and appointing marketing executives at the local Beijing office. Inter have a local owner, Suning Sports, and the closest commercial relationship with China. They have opened several Looking to the future, due to the influence of COVID-19, China, like stores in the biggest cities, selling official Inter merchandise. They many other countries around the world, might have to face some Overall, fans in China pursue deep cultural value associations with are also very active online, having launched a brand new e- tough challenges. However, unless some fundamental political a club or a specific player, and they will channel their passion commerce website in 2020 to boost goods sales, as well as gaining changes take place in the coming years, the Chinese football towards actively acquiring deeper knowledge – often through sponsorship from several high-profile local brands. market is and will remain one of the top destinations in Asia for digital engagement – in order to feel part of a community. Most Wolverhampton Wanderers and Espanyol, also both owned by European clubs. supporters are also willing to go the extra mile, watching live Chinese businesses, are also investing “at home”.

1,439,323,776 38.4 60.8% #1 in the World Years Old +1.1% annual increase

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 58.8% 96.8% of Population US$10,098 7.6mb/s per Year Overall Speed

(over 15) Literacy2018 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Sources: Worldometers, World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Akamai Technologies, IMF The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Survey’s Respondents Female Street* 14.9% 3.4% Other 28.5 0.4% Years#15 in theOld World Online Male 96.6% 84.7% Average Age Source Gender

Occupation Student 29.3% Management 7.5% Freelancing 5.3% Sales 5.2% Education 4.2% Media 3.9% IT 3.4% Marketing 3.3% Banking 2.7% Services 2.7% Other 32.5% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% *Street survey had to be discontinued due to COVID-19 outbreak The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Age of Respondents

0-5yo 1.4% 6-10yo 32.1% 14 11-15yo 26.9% Years Old 16-20yo 29.7% 21-30yo 7.5% Over 31 2.3%

Average age when 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% became a supporter Age fans started to support a European Club

1998, 2010 and 2014 Three World Cup Years Peak years when most Chinese fans started to follow -90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 a European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Manchester United 25.4% Arsenal 17.7% Liverpool 10.2% Barcelona 9.3% Real Madrid 7% Chelsea 5.2% Milan 5.1% Juventus 3.3% Bayern Munich 3.1% Inter 2.8% Manchester City 2% Borussia Dortmund 1.7% Tottenham Hotspur 1.7% PSG 0.8% Everton 0.6% Roma 0.6% Other 3.5% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Real Madrid 11.4% Barcelona 11.2% Borussia Dortmund 9.6% Juventus 7.2% Liverpool 7% Manchester United 6.2% 54.6% of Chinese fans sympathize Milan 6% with a second club Bayern Munich 5.6% Arsenal 5.5% Manchester City 4% 33.7% of Chinese fans sympathize with a second and a third club Inter 3.6% Atletico Madrid 3.5% PSG 3.4% of Chinese20.7% fans sympathize with Tottenham 2.5% a second, a third and a fourth club Chelsea 2.2% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%

EPL 64.1%

LaLiga 17.2%

Serie A 11.7%

Bundesliga 5.2%

Ligue 1 0.8%

Others 1%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

9.9% 13% 68.1%

Family Friends Player or Manager 49.2% 42.2% 12.3%

Playstyle History Other

*Respondents could give multiple answers The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Why did you choose the European Football Club you support? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Influence of Parents Supports same team as father 12.3% Doesn't have / know father 8.0% Mother Supports different team from father 26.4%

Doesn't have / know mother 4.2% Supports same team as mother Father is not interested in football 3.4% 53.3% Supports different team from mother 4.2%

Mother is not interested in football 88.2% Father

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another Club Arsenal 15.1% Manchester U. 17.2% Liverpool 12.9% Milan 15.1% 88.2% Manchester U. 11.8% Real Madrid 14% Barcelona 9.7% Barcelona 12.9% Borussia Dortmund 6.5% Arsenal 7.5% PSG 5.4% Chelsea 5.4% Liverpool 6.5% 11.8% Bayern Munich 4.3% Bayern Munich 4.3% Juventus 4.3% Chelsea 4.3% Switched Did not Switch Other 24.6% Other 18.2%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Fell in love with another club 24.7% 0-5yo 1.2% Favourite player changed club 19.4% 6-11yo 9.3% Fell in love with a player and supported his club 12.9% 12-14yo 15.1% Lack of results 9.7% 15-20yo 41.9% Club supported was playing boring football 6.5% 21-30yo 26.7% Favourite manager changed club 4.3% over 31yo 5.8% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 22.5%

78% 65.2% 35.2% 27.1%

Internet News Social Media Internet News Social Media (local language) (local language) (foreign language) (foreign language)

80% 57.4% 12%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

Some Matches 29.9%

Did not purchase jersey 29.2%

Purchased official jersey 59% Purchased counterfeit jersey 11.8%

*Does not refer to this season only, but since fan started to follow the favorite club The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do you own your favourite European Football Club’s jersey? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Following Chinese Football Mostly 20%

Fully 41.7%

Mildly 23.8% Fully 46.4% Not at all Follow a local club and the local league 14.5%

Follow the NationalNot at Team all 13.2%

Mostly Mildly 18.5% 22%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story To break into the Chinese market it is essential to have Juventus. AC Milan followed a similar path, with their many years without lifting relevant trophies and not a strong impact through media in the local language. Weibo account also being unveiled in 2010, and their playing UEFA Champions League games. Our survey is clear: 78% of supporters check websites Chinese website launched back in in 2005. in the Chinese language, while 65.2% rely on social It is also worth underscoring how both Inter and AC media. Opening Digital Media in China Milan regularly play International Champions Cup games in China, including two historic derbies, in 2015 An interesting case study is Arsenal, which, despite in Shenzhen and two years later in Nanjing. Inter also Club only winning two FA Cups in the last five seasons, are Website Weibo participated again in 2018. Local events such as these the second most popular club in China (17.7%) and high-profile pre-season matches create the perfect have a low infidelity rate (only 7.5% of those who situation to bring the players closer to the local fans in changed club were Gunners’ fans). The North London once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and also result in club’s success in China is likely due to them being 2005 2013 premium content on websites and social media. “first movers” when it came to communicating with fans digitally. The growth of Spanish clubs, especially among 2007 2011 younger Chinese, is also noteworthy. Barcelona and In fact, Arsenal were one of the first European clubs to Real Madrid have both taken advantage of Messi and have both a Chinese-version of their official website Ronaldo’s personal activity on Sina Weibo. While CR7’s (since 2007) as well as an official account on the most 2005 2010 move to Juventus put the brakes on Real Madrid’s popular social network in China, Sina Weibo (2011). growth somewhat, the same cannot be said about This has escalated to a massive communication Barcelona, which is the first team among under-18 campaign in the local language in recent years, which 2006 2010 users (22.9%) and supporters who started following helped create a special link with Chinese fans that was football after 2015 (16.7%). then enhanced by participation in the International Champions Cup 2017 in Shanghai. 2011 2013 Considering the limited access to sources in foreign languages, data points to the importance of creating Moving on to Italy, a similar path has been pursued by and managing a digital platform in the Chinese the two Milan clubs. Inter has been owned by Suning 2012 2014 language to guarantee a direct relationship with fans, Group since 2016, but had a Chinese-language website even when it is not possible for clubs to visit China for since 2006 and launched its Weibo account in 2010, This may also help explain why the “Rossoneri” are still events or matches. long before Barcelona and Real Madrid or local rivals the most supported Italian team in China, in spite of

When it comes to discussing the Football digital-ecosystem in According to Benjamin Wahl, BVB head in China, creativity when Chinese fans of German football are looking for an original and China, both the German clubs and the league stand out for producing content played a key role in their success so far; the genuine connection with the rights holders, with high focus on presence, fan engagement activation and the exploration of legends tour and matches in Asia, the storyline built around Emma transferred values when choosing one club over another, as they innovative commercial opportunities. and splitting messages to different audience segments, are some look to build their own football identity on the truly localised of the keys in driving the hype around the club. content and campaigns activated by both clubs and the Talking with representatives of Borussia Dortmund and Bundesliga Bundesliga. The high ratio of female participation in tifo is also a This is also confirmed in the Ganassa report, where we find International in China, we discussed the role of creativity when key parameter to consider, especially for the Millennial and Gen Z Borussia Dortmund ranks third as “other most supported club” in producing social media content, the relationship between clubs segments, where the contrast with previous generations is more China. and the league and how that contributes to the success of their evident than ever. brand development strategy. Finally, we profiled local fans and their behaviour.

Considering the fact that BVB only established an office presence in China in 2017, at a time when it had just three active fan clubs in the country, it is impressive to see how there are now eighteen of them, along with four local social media accounts (including one for Borussia Dortmund’s beloved team mascot Emma). Moreover, there were four Asian summer tours in the last five years (the latest being entirely virtual), countless kit supplier and offline sponsor activations and a full time dedicated resource in Shanghai Looking at Bundesliga International, and its opening of a local in charge of managing the relationship and communication with Beijing branch in March 2019, it is also impressive to see how they local fans. achieved both digital and commercial success in such a short time, proving once more that with a solid strategy and implementation plan, China is among the fastest growing and most rewarding football markets in Asia. As per our discussion with Patrick Stüber, Head of China at Bundesliga International GmbH, the German league is unique in its commitment to understanding and growing its fan base in China. On top of their International offices, six clubs also have offices in the country, a number unmatched by any other international football league. This on-the-ground presence allows the league and its clubs opportunities to cooperate when promoting the German top tier competition, whilst also developing effective engagement strategies with local media partners and broadcasters.

Most Fans in China UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Manchester U. 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Arsenal 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Liverpool 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Barcelona 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Real Madrid 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Chelsea 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Milan 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Juventus 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Bayern Munich 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Inter 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

With the Cooperation of: Sha Tao, Liang Dapeng, Nguyen Hong Ngoc, Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton, and Stuart Woodward Special Thanks to: Zhijie Shao, Kidd Tan, Christian Wang, Chin Kit “Kun” Lau, Chris Atkins, Federico Casotti, Benjamin Wahl and Patrick Stüber Street Interviews by: Liang Dapeng Pictures by: BVB China, Bundesliga International, Milan Circle China, SSC Napoli Fans China, Union of Man Utd Fans China, Roma Fan Club China, Zhijie Shao, Li Hao, MostHandsomePatrickNightStar.

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you Korea Rep. www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia,” (2) that you mention Ganassa as its [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!-, we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United Over two thirds of the fathers of Two Spanish clubs and Liverpool combined the Korean fans we interviewed and two German clubs are supported by almost half are not interested in football are in the Korean fans’ of the the Korean fans surveyed second favourite teams 46.7% 67.4% Top 5 Almost nine European football supporters in The Bundesliga is the third Korea Rep. also most popular league 대한민국 67.4%actively support their in Korea Rep. national teams #3Less than one Korean supporter in five reads Less than one supporter in five bought news from the Internet in foreign languages the original jersey of their favourite club 19.5yo during the 2019/20 season The average age at which Koreans become Ca.18% supporters is higher than in the rest of East Asia The Ganassa Report 18.4%The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Foreword to the Korea Rep. Report Based on the survey we conducted in Korea, it is evident that Wright-Phillips visited Seoul as part of their trophy tour of Asia and fans and built a huge reputation. Other broadcasters such as KBS N teams with, and those which previously had, Korean players enjoy participated in various radio shows and events to engage with SPORTS and JTBC Golf&Sports air LaLiga and Bundesliga, the greatest popularity in the country.. Tottenham Hotspur won fans. respectively, enabling fans to enjoy a wide range of European 19.7% of the hearts surveyed, whilst Manchester United garnered football with few restrictions. 14.2%, meaning these two teams have the largest fan bases in In Korea, SPOTV holds the exclusive rights to air English Premier Korea. It is clear, therefore, that Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, and League (EPL) matches. . They have various channels including Finally, the survey pointed out the need to address Korean fans in Son Heung-min’s efforts at these two clubs have played a huge SPOTV1, SPOTV2, and SPOTVNOW. They took over from SBS Sports, their own language: despite the country featuring a very high level role in the teams’ success in the region, and it is important to note which previously held the broadcasting rights for the EPL for many of connectivity, only around 18% of fans read websites or social that the presence of a local player in a European team greatly years. Commentators from SBS Sports gained the trust and love of media in foreign languages. affects that club’s popularity in Korea.

Manchester United still has the potential to top the list. Upon Park joining United under the helm of Sir Alex Ferguson, the whole peninsula became fanatics of the Red Devils. Apparently, for a country which had previously had no Premier League player in its history, it was a sensation for the people of Korea. Furthermore, Park was not just an unused sub or reserve, but played a core role in Ferguson’s system, which in the fans’ view made him all the more deserving of love. Park himself became an ambassador for United, leading the promotion of club-related fixtures and events, meaning he has continued to play a key role in the club’s popularity.

Several European giants have launched football academies in Korea in order to nurture talent and engage with fans through the means of football education. Liverpool, for example, opened their academy in Sejong in 2017. The academy was created to nurture young players in Korea, as well as their coaches, who received training from Liverpool in England and have been deployed to guarantee the quality of training.

At times, club ambassadors visit the country to promote events as well. In one instance, former Manchester City player Shaun

51,269,185 43.7 81.8% #28 in the World Years Old +0.2% annual increase

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 95.1% 96.1% of Population US$31,430 52.4mb/s per Year Cellular Speed

(over 15) Literacy2020 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Online 34.8% Male 24.5 89.3% #15 in the World Female 10.7% Years Old Street 65.2% Average Age Source Gender

Occupation Student 54.1% Government 8.2% Tech 4.3% Unemployed 3.4% Services 3% Marketing 2.4% Freelancing 2.3% Media 2.3% Management 2.1% Business 2% Other 15.9% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55%

0-5yo 1.5% 6-11yo 9.2% 19.5 12-14yo 16.1% Years Old 15-20yo 37.9% 21-30yo 27.0% Over 31 8.3% Average age when 0% 8% 16% 24% 32% 40% became a supporter Age fans started to support a European Club

2017to 2019 Peak years when most Koreans started to follow a 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Tottenham Hotspur 19.7% Manchester United 14.2% Liverpool 12.8% Barcelona 12% Real Madrid 7.9% Arsenal 7.7% Chelsea 6.3% Manchester City 6.1% Bayern Munich 3.1% Juventus 3.1% Atletico Madrid 1.6% Borussia Dortmund 1.6% PSG 1.3% Milan 0.5% Inter 0.4% Other 1.7% 5% 10% 15% 20%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Barcelona 16.4% Tottenham 12.6% Real Madrid 11.9% Bayern Munich 10.7% Borussia Dortmund 8.8% Atletico Madrid 8.2% 36.5% of Korean fans sympathise with Manchester United 5.7% a second club PSG 5% Liverpool 4.4% Chelsea 10% 3.1% of Korean fans sympathise with a second and a third club Arsenal 2.5% Ajax 1.9% Manchester City 1.9% of Korean4.4% fans sympathise with Juventus 1.3% a second, a third and a fourth club Milan 1.3% 4% 8% 12% 16% 20%

EPL 67.6%

LaLiga 21.5%

Bundesliga 5.1%

Serie A 4.3%

Ligue 1 1%

Others 0.5%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

3% 10.8% 57.1%

Family Friends Player or Manager 39.9% 19.9% 6.6%

Playstyle History Other

Mother Supports different team from father 15.1% Father is not interested in football 67.4%

Doesn't have / know mother 1.0%

Supports same team as father Supports same team as mother 14.9% 5.3% Supports different team from mother Doesn't have / know father 2.6% 2.6%

Mother is not interested in football Father 91.1%

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another club Tottenham Hotspur 21.1% Manchester United 40.4% Barcelona 14.9% Barcelona 8.8% 85.7% Liverpool 14.9% Real Madrid 7.9% Real Madrid 7.9% Tottenham Hotspur 7.9% Arsenal 7% Chelsea 7% Chelsea 5.3% Liverpool 7% 14.3% Manchester City 5.3% Juventus 4.4% Manchester United 5.3% Manchester City 4.4% Switched Did not Switch Other 18.3% Other 12.2%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Fell in love with another club 28.9% 6-11yo 6.3% Fell in love with a player and supported his club 21.1% Favourite player changed club 14% 12-14yo 18.8% Dislike player(s) 9.6% 15-20yo 50.9% Club supported was playing boring football 7% Lack of results 4.4% 21-30yo 20.5% Disliked how the club is managed 3.5% Disliked the manager 3.5% over 31yo 3.6% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 8%

67.9% 41.5% 17.8% 18.1%

Internet News Social Media Internet News Social Media (local language) (local language) (foreign language) (foreign language)

46.5% 21.2% 2.8%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

None 7.2%

Few Games Some Games 25.2% 25.3%

Purchased counterfeit jersey 10.4% Did not purchase jersey 71.2%

Purchased official jersey 18.4%

Mildly 10.3% Not at all 2.4%

Mostly 26.2% Fully Follow a local club and the local league 46.7% Fully 19.6% Follow the National Team Mildly 25.8%

Not at all 28.4%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story The first Korean professional player in Europe went to Germany The commitment Korean supporters show to their players abroad What’s next, then? If we take a look at the data for respondents over 40 years ago, but Cha Bum-kun’s successful spells at is also confirmed by the data from respondents over 35. If we look Under 21, we see that things are changing slowly but surely, with Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen probably fell into the at the oldest football fans surveyed, we see a clear preference for LaLiga’s reputation significantly growing among the younger category of ’too early to be good’. In a pre-globalised football era, Tottenham, who almost double their figures to 35,1%, and United segment and FC Barcelona as the second most supported team, having a Korean player as their top striker didn't bring the German also gain more fans (17,6%), surely due to the glorious spell of Park not too far behind Tottenham (15.4% v 18.6%), and Real Madrid’s clubs the rewards that Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United Ji-sung during the Ferguson era. figures also progressing from 7.9% to 9.3%. Imagine what would are receiving nowadays. happen if a Korean player were to arrive at one of the Spanish giants. Barcelona made an attempt a few years ago with the Tottenham is the perfect example of a club that made the wisest youngster Lee Seung-woo, currently in the Belgian League, but a choice, by signing Son Heung-min and building upon his hypothetical Korean regular starter in ‘El Clasico’ would almost undoubted qualities on the pitch by making him their Far-East certainly change the current balance. ambassador. While United is clearly the most supported club in all of the surveyed countries, Korea is a significant exception with Most Supported European Clubs Tottenham (19.7%) leading the Red Devils (14,2%) as the most supported team, To give a further idea of Tottenham’s impressive among U21 Korea Rep. fans breakout in Korea, we see that more than half of the Spurs supporters in the six countries we covered in this survey (56,7%) Tottenham H. 18.6% come from this country alone. Barcelona 15.4% Tottenham Hotspur Supporters in East Asia Manchester U. 14.8% Distribution by Country Real Madrid 9.3%

Singapore Liverpool 8.4% 18.4% Manchester C. 7.1% Korean supporters’ loyalty to their clubs is pretty much aligned to the general trend, as only 14.5% have switched from one team to Chelsea 5.5% Japan another. 1.75% did switch from Manchester United to Tottenham, 9% however, and while this is a relatively low figure it is still higher Arsenal 4.2% than the total amount of supporters for clubs like Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich 4.2% Korea Rep. Vietnam Borussia Dortmund (which also previously had Korean players), 56.7% 6.5% and Paris Saint-Germain. Those clubs still achieve remarkable Juventus 3.2% China results as ‘second teams’, especially Borussia Dortmund, which 4.7% claims the support of 6.9% of the surveyed Korean supporters, 5% 10% 15% 20% Indonesia slightly less than Bayern Munich, confirming the special appeal the 4.7% Bundesliga has cultivated in Korea.

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Local Voices Seo Sang-won is fluent in three languages – English, Korean, and naturally encourages fans to support the Korean players’ clubs. working hand-in-hand with the local media and continuously Spanish. After moving to exotic Las Palmas in Spain with his Another important factor is the proactive initiatives clubs communicating to find better ways to increase LaLiga and its parents at the tender age of three, Sang-won naturally fostered a undertake to engage with Korean fans. For instance, clubs' presence. LaLiga is the only European league to organise love for football. Today, he leads LaLiga’s globalisation in South communicating in Korean through clubs’ official accounts and media conferences in Korea, as part of which Korean media are Korea as the LaLiga Global Network Korea Delegate in Seoul. He is organising on-site events are some examples that create a tight invited on trips to Spain. a man living the dream of so many others, working in football. bond with Korean fans.” “LaLiga’s position in Korea is actually very good even without We spoke with Sang-won about how LaLiga and other European having a successful Korean player in the league. With continuous clubs engage with football fans in Korea, and began by asking work and hopefully a successful player in LaLiga soon, I see about his responsibilities. “The main role of a LaLiga delegate is to LaLiga as being one of the most popular foreign leagues in this promote the league and its clubs in their respective market. I am country sooner rather than later.” responsible for Korea, and the advantage of being physically At the time of this interview the number of COVID-19 cases was present is the key aspect of our role as delegates to research and rising, with football one of many fields heavily affected. We asked develop ‘localised’ strategies to promote our product, increase Sang-won how clubs' strategies to engage with fans would differ brand value, and communicate with fans.” as a result of the pandemic. “Even before the coronavirus, the South Korea, like the majority of other Asian countries, was known consumption of products and engagement between producers and for having a fervent love of the English Premier League (EPL) consumers was turning rapidly to the digital forum in many We asked for more specific details on the initiatives conducted by thanks to its rich pool of talents, including Park Ji-sung and Son sectors. Huge damage is being caused to the sports industry European clubs to engage with fans locally. “I believe there have Heung-min. We enquired as to how popular LaLiga is in Korea, and without fans in stadiums. However, this pandemic will end and it is been several,” Sang-won said. “We can certainly say that LaLiga which teams enjoy the largest followings. “LaLiga’s popularity has an opportunity for clubs, leagues, and players to test and discover has conducted many. These included the organisation of an ‘El grown immensely in the last three years, since we launched our efficient digital strategies, as they will become the main Clásico’ viewing party with LaLiga Ambassador Fernando global strategy,” Sang-won explained. “Due to Koreans’ interest in environment for product consumption.” Morientes, the development of ‘Shoot for Love’ co-branded videos football, historically Real Madrid and FC Barcelona were the most with top Korean football creators, and prize promotions for Korean Whatever comes next, Sang-won is determined to keep showing followed teams, and that continues to be the case. The outstanding fans via social media. From a club perspective, Valencia CF has the same passion to help football grow. performances of Atlético Madrid and Sevilla in European been running Korean social media accounts since last season, competitions has also made them familiar to Korean fans as well. “The pride of representing a global organisation such as LaLiga is becoming the first LaLiga club to communicate in Korean with And of course, the presence of Korean player Lee Kang-in has enormous regardless of my nationality. I’ve been living in Korea for local fans. made Valencia the most followed LaLiga team behind Real and the last 12 years and my job has always been linked to Spanish Barcelona. Despite the presence of rising superstar Lee in LaLiga, competing football one way or another. So, to represent LaLiga is a dream in an EPL-dominated environment is always a tough challenge for come true for me. Having said that, the job also brings with it a “For Korean fans, the presence of a Korean player is one of the other European leagues in Korea. We asked how Sang-won would heavy sense of responsibility. I take this job as part of my soul, so most important factors when it comes to supporting a certain club. evaluate LaLiga and its clubs' presence on Korean media there is a personal aspect for me in developing it to the very best Koreans are very proud of the Korean sports stars who carve out compared to other European leagues. “I think we have much more of my ability.” impressive careers in major competitions, and their success exposure in the Korean media than ever before,” he said. “We are

Most Fans in Korea UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Tottenham H. 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Manchester U. 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Liverpool 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Barcelona 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Real Madrid 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Arsenal 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Chelsea 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Manchester C. 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Bayern Munich 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

Survey’s Creator and Director: Cesare Polenghi

With the Cooperation of: Youngsub Lee, Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton and Stuart Woodward

Special Thanks to: Seo Sangwon, Jessie Jeon, Mi Hyun Chung, Federico Casotti

Street Interviews by: Oh Dohyun

Pictures by: BVB Asia, Jaewon_1996 , juventus.kr

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in Indonesia part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia,” (2) that you mention Ganassa as its [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!-, we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

Two of the Top 4 most-followed Juventus, Milan and Inter Two Indonesian European clubs are from Spain, made the Top 10 among fans out of five while the other two are from England the most supported support a different clubs by Indonesian fans club from their father 7th, 8th, 9th 2-213 female Indonesians 40% Social media in local language is the main supporters out of 20 source of information about their favourite support one of European Club for Indonesian supporters Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool Indonesia

64.8%Indonesia, a former 71.5%Borussia Dutch colony, is the Dortmund are tied East Asian country with Real Madrid where Ajax has the as Indonesian 83.9%17 Indonesians out of 20 fans’ favourite most sympathizers who support a European “second club” club also follow their National Teams

4.3% #1The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Foreword to the Indonesia Report Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and The Indonesian media covers European football enthusiastically, ranks third in Asia, representing a huge market for all kinds of with the likes of GOAL.com Indonesia, 90min.com Indonesia and opportunities – especially related to football, which has become Football Tribe Indonesia among the most popular sites, Fans have the number one sport in the nation. Indonesian fans are very active also created their own community media on Twitter, LINE, and both in and out of the stadium, supporting not only local teams but Instagram to share the latest news about their clubs. also European clubs. Their supporters fill terraces, go to pubs and cafes to watch their favourite sport every night they can, buy merchandise and spend their time commenting online and exhibiting affection for their clubs on social media.

Indonesian entrepreneurs have not been shy about acquiring European clubs either, with the most well known, Erick Thohir, a majority shareholder of Inter Milan for several years. Thohir is now Minister of State Owned Enterprises and had to reduce his holdings in the Indonesian club Persib Bandung and English club Legends from the 1990s and recently retired players from all over Oxford United in order to avoid conflict of interest issues. Other the world are hugely attractive for Indonesian fans, especially Indonesian entrepreneurs have tried to follow in his footsteps, those who played in the EPL, Serie A or LaLiga, and their visits including the Winandi brothers, who bought the English club generate enthusiasm among the supporters. Indeed, football may Tranmere Rovers in 2019, the Hartono brothers, who bought the be a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia, but it has already Indonesia is a big market for the English Premier League, with the Italian club Como 1907 FC in 2019, and Yusuf Mansyur, who has a established deep roots. ‘Big Four’ clubs (Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and minority stake in the Polish club Lechia Gdansk, with his company, Chelsea) dominating the popularity stakes amongst millennials, PayTren, becoming the secondary sponsor of the club. while some Serie A old school fanatics remain enamoured with Juventus, AC Milan and Inter. There is also a steady following for LaLiga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

273,523,615 29.7 56% #4 in the World Years Old +3% annual increase

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 64.8% 95.4% of Population US$4,163 6.9mb/s per Year Cellular Speed

(over 15) Literacy2018 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Sources: Worldometers, World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Opensignal, IMF The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Survey’s Respondents Street 53% Male 24.5 92.1% #15 in the World Female Years Old 7.6% Online Other 47% 0.3% Average Age Source Gender

Occupation Student 47.4% Unemployed 7.4% Education 6.1% Government 4.8% Manual labor 3.9% Freelancing 2.9% Business 2.8% Accounting 1.2% Management 1.1% Services 1.1% Other 21.3% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

0-5yo 2.3% 6-11yo 33.4% 13.5 12-14yo 24.3% Years Old 15-20yo 31.8% 21-30yo 7.5% Over 31 0.6% Average age when 10% 20% 30% 40% became a supporter Age fans started to support a European Club 2005 to 2010 Peak years when most Indonesians started to follow a -9091 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Manchester United 22.6% Barcelona 13.6% Liverpool 11.6% Real Madrid 11.1% Chelsea 9.2% Arsenal 7.3% Juventus 5.8% Milan 5.8% Inter 4.5% Manchester City 2.4% Bayern Munich 1.6% Tottenham Hotspur 1.1% Roma 0.9% PSG 0.8% Ajax 0.8% Other 0.9% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Borussia Dortmund 10.8% Real Madrid 10.8% Manchester United 8.6% Juventus 8% Inter 7% Barcelona 6.7% 38.5% Milan of Indonesian fans sympathize 6.4% with a second club Liverpool 5.6% Bayern Munich 4.8% Ajax 4.3% 21.4% of Indonesian fans sympathize with Arsenal 4.1% a second and a third club Chelsea 3.7% Atletico Madrid 3.2% 12.2% Manchester City of Indonesian fans sympathize with 3.2% a second, a third and a fourth club Roma 1.9% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%

EPL 54.6%

LaLiga 24.7%

Serie A 17.6%

Bundesliga 1.8%

Ligue 1 0.8%

Others 0.5%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

10.9% 8.2% 58.2%

Family Friends Player or Manager 42.8% 37.8% 14.6%

Playstyle History Other

Supports same team as father 15.2% Supports different team from father 40.9% Mother

Doesn't have / know father 5.6%

Doesn't have / know mother 4.3% Supports same team as mother Father is not interested in football 4.3% 38.3% Supports different team from mother 8.8%

Mother is not interested in football 82.6% Father

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another club Real Madrid 15.2% Manchester U. 22.1% 87.9% Liverpool 13.8% Barcelona 15.2% Barcelona 12.4% Juventus 13.1% Manchester U. 10.3% Milan 12.4% Chelsea 8.3% Real Madrid 9.7% Juventus 8.3% Arsenal 7.6% Inter 5.5% 12.1% Manchester C. 4.1% Arsenal 4.8% Milan 4.1% Roma 3.4% Switched Did not Switch Other 15.9% Other 13.8%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Favourite player changed club 21.4% 0-5yo 0.7% Fell in love with another club 15.9% Fell in love with a player and supported his club 13.8% 6-11yo 27.6% Disliked how the club is managed 9% 12-14yo 20% Disliked player(s) 6.9% Lack of results 5.5% 15-20yo 42.8% Club supported was playing boring football 4.1% Favourite manager changed club 2.8% 21-30yo 7.6% Disliked the supporters 1.4% over 31yo 1.4% Disliked the manager 0.7% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 18.5%

64.2% 71.5% 42.9% 54.2%

Internet News Social Media Internet News Social Media (local language) (local language) (foreign language) (foreign language)

57.5% 23.3% 6.6%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

Few Games Most Games 12.4% 45.9% None 0.7% All Games 12.7%

Did not purchase jersey 53.9%

Purchased official jersey 19.9%

Purchased counterfeit jersey 26.2%

Not at all Fully 6.0% 63.2% Mildly 10.1%

Mostly 22.8% Mostly 20.7% Follow a local club and the local league

Mildly Follow the National Team 23.3% Fully 36.6%

Not at all 17.3%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story Among the countries we have analysed so far, Indonesia shows the While LaLiga registers 35.8% – still significantly less then the EPL clearest trends in terms of “generational leagues”. While the EPL – if we look at clubs’ rankings we notice that Barcelona is the Most Supported Clubs by U21 clubs still has clear dominance, holding 54,6% in the overall data, it most popular among youngsters, slightly ahead of “Her Majesty” Barcelona 18.9% is curious to see the evolution that has enabled LaLiga to become Manchester United, while Real Madrid is the third most supported the second favourite league for Indonesian fans. club. This is a truly surprising result when compared with the solid Manchester U. 18.5% dominance from the Red Devils in the overall data. Even so, this Real Madrid 15.2% polarisation of LaLiga relies on Real Madrid and Barcelona’s Most Supported Leagues (by club) strength and appeal, which means there is basically no space for Liverpool 11% Bundesliga other clubs. This phenomenon doesn’t occur with regards to the Chelsea 10% 1.8% EPL and Serie A, which have a more widespread appeal over EPL several teams. Arsenal 6.8% 54.6% Manchester C. 4.7% Serie A Most Supported Leagues (by club) 17.6% Juventus 3.7% by age brackets Other 11.2% 70%

The increasing popularity of LaLiga in Indonesia is confirmed by 60% 61% the overall data concerning second teams: in a really fragmented 57.3% scenario, Real Madrid gains a 10.8% share – which is the largest, LaLiga 50% 51.4% although shared with Borussia Dortmund. If we look at people who don’t support a LaLiga team as their main club, we notice that Real 24.7% 45.5% 44.2% 40% Madrid is the club that gets the most “sympathy”, even more than If we divide the fans into age segments, we soon notice that Serie BVB (12.8% vs. 10.7%). A still has a solid grip on supporters over 30 – those who started 35.8% 36% following the Italian league in its golden age and never changed 30% Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have in Indonesia the biggest their allegiance. 45.5% of them are Serie A fans, as opposed to share of fans in all the countries we have analysed. Yet, there’s LaLiga, which has just a minority 7.8% share. However, as we look 20% plenty of room for improvement and fulfilling their potential, into the younger fans’ preferences we clearly notice that the trend 18% 18.4% especially in terms of engagement. LaLiga fans watch fewer moves from Serie A to LaLiga, while the EPL mostly remains games than the average in the country (52.2% watch all or most unchanged as the leading league. With fans from 23 to 29 years old 10% games vs. 58.6%), while 44.1% of fans bought a club shirt, genuine 8.6% we see a big rise both in the EPL (which moves from 44.2% to an 7.8% or counterfeit, during the last year (compared to the overall figure 4% impressive 61%) and the Spanish league, which attracts 18% of of 46.1%). However, the young average age of these fans proves supporters in that age segment. The Italian league still maintains a Over 30 23-29yo 19-22yo U18 that the best is still to come for LaLiga. decent 18.4%, but receives disappointing news when we come to EPL LaLiga Serie A explore supporters under 22.

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Local Voices Arif Putra Wicaksono is one of the most successful football We asked Arif to elaborate upon the importance of a digital His ideas were very clear, and centered upon merit. “I would use promoters in Indonesia. Throughout his career he has worked with platform. “It’s very important, because it’s the only way clubs can my time and investment to the maximum, because Indonesia is a Chelsea, Ajax, Sevilla, Barcelona, Roma, and Valencia among many interact with a lot of fans together at the same time and on a daily big market and the future of football is promising here. others. We began our chat with him by trying to understand what it basis. In that sense, it is essential.” takes for a European club to be successful in Indonesia. Moving on to TV rights, we asked for some insight into the situation “Firstly, famous players can generate bigger interest than the clubs in Indonesia. “Not all European leagues have a market in themselves,” he began. “However, ‘smaller’ clubs also have an Indonesia,” he explained. “The EPL is of course number one, opportunity if they have the intention of building long term followed by Serie A and LaLiga. But even for the English sides, not relationships in Indonesia. ‘Smaller’ clubs have more freedom to all matches are shown. In recent years LaLiga made great make their own decisions with regards to how they organise promotional efforts and I think they must continue to develop on activities in Indonesia, so it is easier for them to reach the that front until one day we hope to see an Indonesian player in Indonesian football community. Spain, even if only in LaLiga Segunda División. That would be something that would catch fans’ attention. Also, as I mentioned, there is a need for more promotion, not only about the European If I was a European club I would look to choose an Indonesian club brand but also regarding activities that bring benefits for with similar characteristics to mine and which has a huge fanbase Indonesian football development. Bundesliga undertook some of to co-operate with as a “sister club”. I’d start by sending a these steps, but of course the Indonesian football community technical director to improve their playing structure as a club and wants to see consistent commitment. Without a well-rounded a general manager to improve the management system, so they relationship, I think it is hard for Indonesian TV broadcasters to can raise the standard and the market value of both brands’ image. make an investment in the European leagues.” This step would create a high level of loyalty from fans, on top of which I would of course encourage consistent engagement in online communication with the local club. The cost of this investment would be relatively small – amounting to little more “Based on my experience, it’s relatively easy to start a good player than the salaries of the staff sent to Indonesia and the few other development program here with young Indonesian footballers, or expenses that support their activities here. But it could generate a to hold an exhibition, for example,” the 39-year-old continued. huge income for the sponsors and both clubs.” “Maybe a trial match and then become the host for Indonesian clubs who want to play overseas. But these kinds of initiatives Arif’s drive to grow the game in Indonesia is clear, and he believes must be carried out consistently if a European club wants to be such enthusiasm is widespread across the nation. “I love how the successful in the Indonesian market. There are several ways to people of Indonesia have such passion for football,” he concluded. interact with the local football community, but finding a sister club “Even the data shows that Indonesia has the largest number of and starting a program together is probably the most effective way Next, we asked Arif what he would do if he was in charge of a local fans in the world, the largest World Cup viewership and the to increase the benefits for both parties. Long-term co-operation European club that wanted to break into the Indonesian market; most social media interactions about the UEFA Champions and activities are necessary. Of course, another option is to foster how would he try to engage Indonesian fans, and how much time, League.” an online relationship.” energy and money would he invest?

Most Fans in Indonesia UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Manchester U. 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Liverpool 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Real Madrid 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Chelsea 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Arsenal 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Juventus 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Milan 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Inter 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Manchester C. 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

With the Cooperation of: Aby Rachman, FX Steven Danis, Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton and Stuart Woodward

Special Thanks to: Federico Casotti, Arif Putra Wicaksono, Savage Football, Agung Harsya, and Zakky Bunyanum Marsus

Street Interviews by: Anggi Gumelar and Denny Chandra Kirana

Pictures by: Nine Sport Inc. BVB Asia, FX Steven Danis, Zakky Bunyanum Marsus, Cesare Polenghi, FourFourTwo Indonesia, Juventus Official Fan Club Indonesia, Arsenal Indonesia Supporters Regional Cilegon, Real Madrid Fans Indonesia

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in Vietnam part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia”, (2) that you mention Ganassa as its [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!-, we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

Four out of the five most supported clubs Borussia Dortmund is in Vietnam are playing in the Almost half of picked by only 0,7% of fans English Premier League Vietnamese fans as a first choice, but rises to 10,7% as an “other support a different 10.7% favourite club” among club to their father those supporting more than one team in Vietnam. 4/5 1/2 2/5 of the Vietnamese fans who bought their favourite club’s jersey this season, opted for a cheaper, counterfeit copy One in four Vietnamese fans Việt Nam supports Manchester United 1/4 More than 60% of Vietnamese fans indicated 38.8%Among those who have switched allegiance, a favored player or manager as one of the one Vietnamese supporter in five picked main reasons to support a club Juventus as their new favourite club

85.1%17 Vietnamese supporters out of 20 who support a European club also follow their National Teams

60.5% The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia 1/5 ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Foreword to the Vietnam Report Vietnamese people love football. A huge section of the population most supported club in Vietnam, while Borussia Dortmund rank Mostly on account of still-developing infrastructure (for example, watches or attends the national team's matches, and many follow third among “other favourite clubs”. OTT providers struggled due to unreliable internet connections), big European competitions on their TV screens – even when Vietnam may not yet be a fully mature market, However, there are games are played in the middle of the night. In fact, this survey several reasons to consider this almost 100-million-people-strong showed that 85% of fans said they follow both a European club and country as one with huge potential for rapid development. domestic team, making Vietnam one of the most football-addicted countries in the region.

The English Premier League is the most beloved competition, with one out of four fans surveyed supporting Manchester United. At the turn of the century, with the increase of European football’s popularity, the EPL was broadcast across Vietnam widely and free of charge. Back then, Manchester United featured a team filled Manchester City have been very active in Vietnam in recent years with homegrown players that managed to win many titles, and as a through activities such as a trophy tour, former player visits, video natural result many in Vietnam embraced the Red Devils as their content, and a partnership with SHB Bank. Meanwhile, Arsenal favourite club and began to avidly follow European football. played against the Vietnam national team back in 2013, and opened an academy together with local club Hoang Anh Gia Lai. However, neither of these two clubs have so far launched websites or social media channels in Vietnamese.

The recent regional success of the local national teams has generated a genuine enthusiasm for football, and the younger However, Manchester United have so far not been very active in the generations have completely embraced “The Game” as part of their Vietnamese market. Instead, it is Chelsea (and also Tottenham lifestyle. With an average age of approximately 30, a growing Hotspur and the Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund) who recently Academies seem to be the most popular form of partnership. In football fandom which desires to be nurtured and limited costs, increased their popularity with a digital presence in the country. 2018, Juventus cooperated with the Binh Minh Group to open a Vietnam is clearly one of the next destinations for those clubs, With very popular Facebook accounts in Vietnamese, these clubs football school in Vietnam, and “Bianconeri” legend David leagues and federations that wish to expand their influence in Asia. have earned an edge over their competition when it comes to Trezeguet visited the country for the opening. This paved the way in creating a special relationship with Vietnamese fans. Chelsea, who 2019 for other academies associated with AC Milan and Lyon FC. have also lifted trophies in recent seasons, are in fact the second

97,338,579 32.5 38% #15 in the World Years Old +4% annual increase

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 70% 95% of Population US$2,740 14.1mb/s per Year Cellular Speed

(over 15) Literacy2018 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Street 44.8% 22 Male Female #15 in the World 81.4% 18.1% Years Old Online Other 55.2% 0.5% Average Age Source Gender

Occupation Student 56.6% Government 7.3% Business 4.6% Tech 3.5% Unemployed 3.4% IT 2.9% Education 2.7% Manual labor 2.4% Sales 2.2% Media 1.9% Other 13.1% 15% 30% 45% 60%

0-5yo 2.6% 6-11yo 43.5% 12 12-14yo 27.2% Years Old 15-20yo 23.5% 21-30yo 2.9% Over 31 0.2%

Average age when 13% 25% 38% 50% became a supporter Age fans started to follow a European Club 2008 to 2011 Peak years when most Vietnamese fans started to follow 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 a European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Manchester United 25.2% Chelsea 13.3% Barcelona 12% Arsenal 11.8% Liverpool 10.3% Real Madrid 8% Juventus 6.7% Manchester City 5% Tottenham Hotspur 1.6% Bayern Munich 1.5% Milan 1.1% Borussia Dortmund 0.7% PSG 0.6% Inter 0.4% Roma 0.4% Other 1.4% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Real Madrid 12% Barcelona 10.8% Borussia Dortmund 10.7% Juventus 10.4% Liverpool 7.2% Manchester United 6.6% Manchester City 5.6% 45.2% of Vietnamese fans sympathize with a second club Milan 5.1% Arsenal 4.7% Chelsea 3.2% 19.5% Tottenham Hotspur 3% of Vietnamese fans sympathize with a second and a third club Atletico Madrid 2.7% Bayern Munich 2.5% Inter 2.4% 9.1% of Vietnamese fans sympathize with Roma 2% a second, a third and a fourth club Ajax 2% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%

EPL 67.7%

LaLiga 20.1%

Serie A 8.5%

Bundesliga 2.2%

Ligue 1 0.6%

Others 0.5%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

7.1% 8.7% 60.5%

Family Friends Player or Manager 55.8% 32.4% 3.3%

Playstyle History Other

Supports same team as father 13.7% Supports different team from father Mother 47.8% Doesn't have / know father 3.9%

Doesn't have / know mother 0.8% Supports same team as mother 3.4% Father is not interested in football Supports different team from mother 34.6% 10.9%

Mother is not interested in football 84.9% Father

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another Club Juventus 20.1% Manchester U. 32.1% 85.5% Barcelona 13.2% Real Madrid 20.8% Real Madrid 11.3% Barcelona 10.1% Chelsea 10.7% Arsenal 9.4% Manchester U. 9.4% Chelsea 6.3% Manchester C. 8.8% 14.5% Liverpool 6.9% Milan 6.3% Arsenal 6.3% Liverpool 5.7% Switched Did not Switch Other 13.3% Other 9.3%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Favourite player changed club 31.4% 0-5yo 0.6% Fell in love with another club 22% Club supported was playing boring football 11.9% 6-11yo 17.1% Lack of results 6.3% 12-14yo 17.7% Fell in love with a player and supported his club 6.3% Favourite manager changed club 4.4% 15-20yo 45.6% Disliked the manager 2.5% Disliked how the club is managed 2.5% 21-30yo 17.1% Disliked the supporters 1.3% over 31yo 1.9% Disliked player(s) 0.6% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 10.7%

60% 77% 44.8% 47%

Internet News Social Media Internet News Social Media (local language) (local language) (foreign language) (foreign language)

60.1% 23% 1%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

All Matches 16.1%

None 0.5% Few Matches Most Matches 6.3% 53.3%

Some Matches 23.8%

Did not purchase jersey 46.1%

Purchased official jersey 15.1%

Purchased counterfeit jersey 38.8%

Fully Not at all 50.4% 1.1% Mildly 13.8%

Not at all 26.7% Mostly Follow a local club and the local league 34.7%

Mildly Follow the National Team Fully 37.3% 14.8%

Mostly 21.2%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story Serie A may not be as appealing these days as it was in the golden This is much clearer if we focus on the origin of these “migrating” The Bianconeri supporters’ behaviour produces some interesting era of the nineties, but thanks to the impressive performances of supporters. Almost two thirds (65.6%) came from Real Madrid – a insights if we look at sales of the club’s shirts: during the last year, Juventus the league remains attractive. In the summer of 2018, the figure which climbs to 75% if we only look at fans under 21 – 50% 12.3% bought an original shirt and a further 45.2% obtained a now nine-times-consecutive Italian champions managed to of whom made the switch in 2018, when CR7 moved to Italy. This counterfeit one – something absolutely consistent with the trend in execute the glamorous signing of Cristiano Ronaldo to build upon trend is confirmed by the “reason why” figures: 59.4% of the the country, slightly above the average in both cases. Even the their long-term successful cycle. Juventus’ close relationship with supporters who abandoned Real Madrid did so because a player connection with the club on match-days looks consistent: some Vietnam has solid and deep roots, with the Bianconeri playing a they liked had changed club – and we all know who that was… 57.5% of Juventus supporters watch at least 70% of the games live, celebrated friendly match in Hanoi only a couple of weeks after despite the fact that the Bianconeri play the majority of their league lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy in 1996. This match not matches in the late afternoon or evening Italian time – fixtures only became a memorable event in Vietnam, but also occupies a Reasons why which are not particularly Asian-friendly. special place in the club’s history, as it was captain Gianluca How often Vietnamese Juventus Fans Vialli’s last game for the club. Vietnamese Fans Support Juventus* watch the Bianconeri’s games live Moving forward to the present, Juventus’ popularity in Vietnam may appear reasonably low if compared with that of the Premier League giants: Juventus have a 6.7% share, whereas Manchester United have around four times their support. Chelsea and 2.7% 5.5% 82.2% 16.4% 12.3% Barcelona also have more or less double, while Liverpool and Real Madrid are consistently higher in the rankings as well. On the Player or other hand, apart from the Bianconeri there isn’t any significant Family Friends Manager evidence of support for other Serie A teams in Vietnam. 30.1% Juventus’ impact on the Vietnamese soccer ecosystem is much 32.9% 23.3% 0% more consistent than it appears, however. The country has one of the highest switching rates (14.5%), within which we observed that 41.1% 20.1% of the people who changed their club made the move to Playstyle History Other Juventus, while only 1.9% abandoned the Bianconeri and chose *Respondents could give multiple answers another team. This means that 2.7% of the whole survey switched from another club to Juventus and that the Bianconeri managed to The link between Cristiano Ronaldo and an increased interest in attract 39.7% of their whole fanbase from another club. Juventus is confirmed by the fans’ “second team” data: 21.9% of Few Games Real Madrid supporters – the largest share - didn’t dare dump the 25% Clubs Adopted by Vietnamese Fans Some Games 20% who Switched their Allegiance Spanish giants, preferring instead to follow their idol on his new Most Games 15% 20.1% adventure and nothing more. A similar path can be seen if we look 10% 13.2% All Games 5% 11.3% 10.7% 9.4% at Cristiano Ronaldo’s former team, Manchester United. Twenty percent of the Red Devils’ fans chose Real Madrid as their second Juventus Barcelona Real Madrid Chelsea Manchester U. team, while some 11% chose Juventus.

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Local Voices Hoàng My (29) is the Vice President of the Chelsea Supporter’s We asked My about some worrisome data that emerged from our sponsorships was one aspect, but he also pointed out there was Club in Vietnam (CFCVN). She is not surprised when informed that survey: in Vietnam only 15% of fans buy official jerseys, while little chance of selling club jerseys.” This is likely due to the fact Chelsea is the second most supported club in Vietnam: “We have many opt for counterfeit, cheaper versions. “Your data is very that prices remain too steep for normal Vietnamese fans, and the most followed football fan-page on Facebook in Vietnam, with likely to be accurate. In recent years, more and more people are those willing to travel to London encounter the same financial 500,000 likes. The club’s been doing well in terms of branding, and willing to buy an authentic jersey, but compared to other countries issues: “Only about 20 Vietnamese fans have been to Stamford has a squad of cool, young and talented players. The days when in Southeast Asia it is still a very small number. “ Bridge so far, and most of them are students who already live in Jose Mourinho displeased people with disagreeable statements England. A trip to London costs at least 2,000 USD – which is a are a thing of the past. CFCVN has gained many new young huge amount of money for Vietnamese people. followers in recent seasons, and within that a significant amount of female fans thanks to the emergence of talents like Mason Mount The final aspect we wanted to discuss was female participation and Christian Pulisic. Frank Lampard’s return to the club as among European club supporters in Vietnam. According to our manager also encouraged fans born in the early 90s to start survey, only 18% of fans are women, while 85% of those who watching the team again, and each season a couple of players answered said that their mother doesn’t watch football. My feels become fan-favourites and encourage new people to start strongly about this: “In general, female members of CFCVN aren’t following the team.” able to participate in our events for too long. It’s common for Asian women to carry many burdens in their life: after graduating, they My elaborates on CFCVN’s activities: “Besides the Facebook fan will shift their focus toward their jobs, families and/or taking care page, we have a group with 50,000 members. Fans who want to of their children, meaning they don’t have time to join in CFCVN’s apply for CFCVN’s membership and receive a membership card activities. can register during offline events and pay the subscription fee of 20,000 VND (1 USD) per year. Our main yearly events are: As a result, it’s even more difficult for a woman to be the leader of celebrating Chelsea Football Club’s birthday; a big offline party for the supporter’s club. Aside from the reasons I mentioned, they also CFCVN’s own birthday; a football tournament featuring branches of have difficulties persuading men, the older and tougher ones, to Chelsea Supporters Club throughout the country; and a Miss listen. However, the administrative business of these supporters’ CFCVN contest with online voting. We also have weekly charitable club needs the hands of a woman, as their carefulness provides a events, such as cooking and delivering meals for patients in need lot of help to ensure events are successful. Moreover, their in hospitals and donations of clothes for poor children in flexibilities serve as a catalyst for members to unite and become a mountainous areas. family, instead of just being fellow members. For me personally, everyone in my family is a football fan. When I was younger, I was My’s generation, having grown up with the internet, has a able to stay up late at night to watch matches, and was allowed to predilection for online news, especially from social media. "When join CFCVN’s activities freely. I met my husband at CFCVN and now, Facebook joined the Vietnamese market in 2009, CFCVN also after our marriage and two children, I still receive support from changed its platform from a dedicated website to its current form: him and the rest of my family. I consider myself very lucky to have a Facebook fan-page. People tend to get their information from “Back in 2013, I talked to Chelsea’s general manager in APAC, who their understanding, as it has helped me remain a part of CFCVN to browsing Facebook and reading headlines nowadays, instead of explained the reasons why it could be difficult for them to organise this day.” actually reading the full content.” a tour in Vietnam: the fear of insufficient ticket sales and

Most Fans in Vietnam UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Manchester U. 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Chelsea 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Barcelona 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Arsenal 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Liverpool 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Real Madrid 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Juventus 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Manchester C. 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Tottenham H. 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Bayern Munich 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

Survey’s Creator and Director: Cesare Polenghi

With the cooperation of: Ngo Vu Duy Anh, Pham Nguyet Ha, Nguyen Hong Ngoc, Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton, and Stuart Woodward Special Thanks to: Hoang My and Chelsea Supporter’s Club in Vietnam, Federico Casotti Street Interviews by: Phan Anh Quyet, and Tran Hoai Thuan Pictures by: Pháp Luật Online, Phạm Nguyệt Hà, Goal.com Vietnam, Fanpage Manchester United Supporters Club in VietNam, Fanpage Official Supporters Club Of Chelsea In Vietnam

This research is conceived to be shared freely. However, should you Singapore www.ganassa.jp mention it or use it in any publication, on paper or digital, entirely or in part, we kindly ask you: (1) to refer to it as “The Ganassa Report 2020: the State of Football in East Asia,” (2) that you mention Ganassa as its [email protected] creator and that you publish our URL: www.ganassa.jp. Please contact us at [email protected] for any matter relative to this report and to discuss football in East Asia in general. Thank You. @ganassa_jp And -yes!-, we are also looking for partners and sponsors for 2021. Introduction

Almost three out of four Only a very small Five of the Singaporean fans support percentage of Singapore top six clubs a club that plays in the supported by Premier League supporters have changed the club Singaporean they support fans play in the 72.5% Premier League One third of Singaporean fans indicated that they 8.2% 28.4% of Singaporean picked their favourite club because of their playstyle support the same team as their father. Singapore This is nearly twice the 14.5% East Asia regional percentage

32.9%Less then half of the Singaporeans who support a Internet websites are the most popular source Over half of the Singaporean supporters watch most European Club also follow their National team - The lowest for Singaporean supporters to get informed or all of the games played by their favourite club percentage among the countries surveyed in East Asia about their favourite club 52.4%

Singapore, a ‘little dot’ in the Southeast Asian region, displays similar results to those found in the surveys of its neighbouring countries. Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are ranked as the three most popular teams, while the English Premier League is clearly the most supported league, mustering 72.5% of the total votes. This is in line with most Southeast Asian countries, where English teams are more popular than those from other leagues, and traditional powerhouses such as those mentioned above are situated as fans’ favourites. It should also be noted that as supporters are exposed to more quality European football than ever, their preferences have become increasingly acute – as demonstrated by the fact that 32.9% of fans choose their favourite team based on play style ahead of any other factor.

As the data bears out, orthodox European powerhouses United, Liverpool and Arsenal lead the popularity charts in the region, with several clubs including United and Arsenal paying visits to the island to engage with fans by way of competitive pre-season tours. Not only that, but Liverpool have also hosted Legends XI games, which have included former star players such as John Arne Riise. As teams become more creative in this way, engaging with fans in Singapore is becoming more diverse than ever,

On account of its guaranteed safety, Singapore is situated as the Asian hub for world trade, and as a result there are plenty of Asia-Pacific (APAC) offices of European clubs and leagues on the island. For instance, LaLiga opened its Asian office in Singapore in 2017 to increase its presence and popularity in the region. The English Premier League also opened its APAC office in Singapore last year, with the aim of creating a base in the APAC region to support its broadcast partners and fight the piracy of its content. It is not only these leagues which are active in the country, and clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and PSG have also opened offices in Singapore in order to do business in APAC and engage with their fans in the region.

Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly abbreviated to Singtel, the English-speaking ability of the majority of the population in an holds the broadcast rights for the English Premier League (EPL) in Singapore environment where citizens can access information freely – and do so to a until May 2022, at which point the multinational conglomerate will have been great extent. With Liverpool FC having now added the Premier League crown the official EPL provider for 12 consecutive years. Aside from the EPL, Singtel to its recent triumphs in the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup and also holds the rights for the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, and eight other having a large number of fans residing in Singapore, the time is ripe for them football leagues and cup competitions. to add to their localised events to further meet the needs of their followers on the island. In Singapore, European clubs can supplement their regional There are currently no social media accounts operated by European clubs successes on the pitch with multinational marketing success off it. targeted at the local population in Singapore. This is in large part likely due to

5,850,342 42.2 #114 in the World Years Old 100%

Population2020 Median Age2020 Urban Population2020 84.5% 98.1% of Population US$63,987 39.3mb/s per Year Cellular Speed

(over 15) Literacy2003 Connectivity2020 GDP per Capita2019 (PPP)

Street 69.2% Female 25.5 Male 22.2% #15 in the World Online 77.4% Years Old 30.8% Other 0.4% Average Age Source Gender

Occupation Student 45.7% Education 5.3% Marketing 3.6% Management 3.5% Business 2.8% IT 2.6% Tech 2.6% Media 2.5% Banking 1.9% Sales 1.9% Other 27.6% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

0-5yo 5.5% 6-11yo 31.9% 13.5 12-14yo 19.5% Years Old 15-20yo 35.1% 21-30yo 7.5% Over 31 0.5% Average age when 0% 8% 16% 24% 32% 40% became a supporter Age fans started to support a European Club 2009 to 2013 Peak years when most Singaporeans started to follow a -90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 European club Year fans started to support a European Club

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Most Supported European Clubs Manchester United 24.1% Liverpool 19.2% Arsenal 11.4% Barcelona 10.4% Chelsea 6.7% Tottenham Hotspur 6.4% Real Madrid 5.2% Manchester City 4.3% Juventus 3.3% Bayern Munich 2.3% PSG 2.3% Borussia Dortmund 1.5% Atletico Madrid 0.6% Ajax 0.5% Milan 0.5% Other 1.3% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Which is your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Other Favourite Clubs Barcelona 14.8% Manchester United 11.7% Real Madrid 11.7% Juventus 8.7% Borussia Dortmund 6.5% Tottenham Hotspur 6.2% Arsenal 6% 38.1% of Singaporean fans sympathise Liverpool 6% with a second club Manchester City 4.6% Chelsea 4.4% 16.8% PSG 4% of Singaporean fans sympathise with a second and a third club Atletico Madrid 3.7% Bayern Munich 3.5% Milan 2.3% 10.4% of Singaporean fans sympathise with Ajax 1% a second, a third and a fourth club Inter 1% 3% 6% 9% 12% 15%

EPL 72.5%

LaLiga 16.1%

Serie A 4.1%

Bundesliga 3.8%

Ligue 1 2.3%

Others 1.2%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

14.3% 16.6% 32.4%

Family Friends Player or Manager 32.9% 21.4% 11.8%

Playstyle History Other

Supports different team from father Mother 17.3% Doesn't have / know father 3.9%

Doesn't have / know mother 2.0% Supports same team as mother 10.2%

Father is not interested in football Supports different team from mother 50.4% 5.4%

Mother is not interested in football Father 82.4%

Supporters who have Adopted Club Abandoned Club Switched to another club Liverpool 15.4% Manchester U. 40% Manchester U. 15.4% Real Madrid 15.4% 91.8% Manchester C. 12.3% Liverpool 9.2% Barcelona 9.2% Barcelona 7.7% Arsenal 7.7% Arsenal 6.2% Juventus 7.7% Chelsea 6.2% Real Madrid 7.7% Bayern Munich 3.1% 8.2% Tottenham 7.7% Milan 3.1% Chelsea 6.2% Tottenham Hotspur 3.1% Switched Did not Switch Other 10.7% Other 6%

Age at which Switch happened Reason for Switching Fell in love with a player and supported his club 18.5% 6-11yo 10.8% Family / Friends 13.8% Fell in love with another club 12.3% 12-14yo 15.4% Favourite player changed club 6.2% Club supported was playing boring football 6.2% 15-20yo 43.1% Dislike player(s) 6.2% Disliked the manager 6.2% 21-30yo 27.7% Lack of results 4.6% Disliked how the club is managed 3.1% over 31yo 3.1% Disliked the supporters 3.1% Don't know / Don't remember / Other 20%

62.1% 59.7%

Internet News Social Media (English* language) (English* language)

37.2% 17.2% 5.9%

Newspapers TV and Magazines Other

*Singapore has four official languages. We used English as it is the most widely understood. Respondents could give multiple answers The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Where do you get news about your favourite European Football Club? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Watching your Favourite Club Most Games 40.1%

All Games 12.3%

None 4.1%

Few Games 14.2% Some Games 29.3%

Purchased official jersey 27.3%

Purchased counterfeit jersey 14.1%

Did not purchase jersey 58.6%

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Did you buy your favourite European Football Club’s jersey this season? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Following Singaporean Football Mostly 27.4% Fully 25.5%

Mildly 15.2% Mostly 22.2% Not at all Follow a local club and the local league 31.9% Fully Mildly 20.1% 18.1% Follow the National Team

Not at all 39.6% The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia Q: Do your support your country’s national teams? Do you support a local team and the local league? ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Data Story It goes without saying that the English Premier League is much As a matter of fact, 28.4% of Singapore-based football fans share a The Spanish league doesn’t only show growth among women, but beloved in Singapore. 72.6% - nearly three out of four football fans passion for the same team as their father, a figure that is almost also when considering fans under the age of 21 - 21.8% of whom in Singapore – say they support an English team, marking a solid double the overall trend of our surveys in East Asia (14.5%), while support a Spanish team, predominantly the third most supported domination and competitive advantage over the competitors. Still, 79.2% of these father-son couples support the same EPL club – a team in that segment, Barcelona. Still, generally speaking LaLiga this consensus is much more polarised than elsewhere, with the higher figure than the general country trend. This may not sound has plenty of room to improve its presence in the country, with big three clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal – encouraging for stakeholders from other leagues, but a slightly 39.9% of fans of the Spanish league watching all or most of their totalling 54.6% of the supporters. This is the most significant different trend is observed if we analyse female fans. team’s LaLiga games, in comparison to the aggregate data in “oligopoly” discovered in all the countries we have analysed so far. Singapore of 52.4%. A more Asian-friendly schedule, for instance – It’s worth adding here that, despite the massive popularity of the especially for Barcelona games – could further boost LaLiga and EPL in Singapore, clubs like Chelsea can only muster slightly- establish it as a true EPL competitor in Singapore. below-average figures, while Manchester City does no more than confirm the share it has elsewhere in Asia. Most Supported European Clubs

This is mainly due to the fact that in Singapore, far more so than in by Singaporean Female Fans other Asian countries, we are looking at second- (or possibly even third-) generation football fans, who act in a more conservative Liverpool 22% way. The loyalty rate is very high, around 91.8%, and if we combine this figure with the family-related data we get further confirmation Manchester U. 20.9% regarding how difficult it is to penetrate the Singaporean market. Barcelona 18.1% Percentage of Singaporean fans Tottenham 10.7% who follow the same club as their father Arsenal 7.3% 40% 35.4% At first glance, the female data offers two big surprises. Firstly, Real Madrid 6.2% 30% Liverpool is the most supported club, instead of the usual 26.1% Manchester United. Further to this, Barcelona also gains a Chelsea 5.6% noteworthy 18% share, situating them as by far the third most 20% supported team. Women appear less influenced by their fathers’ Juventus 3.4% preferences, with 24.3% of them not supporting the same team, and 9.7% 10% 8.4% 24.3% is also the percentage of Singaporean women who support 5.3% B. Dortmund 1.1% 3.5% 3.5% 3.1% LaLiga teams. This represents 8% more than the aggregate data 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 0% (men + women) and is almost entirely due to those women who Manchester U. Liverpool Barcelona Arsenal Chelsea Real Madrid Tottenham Juventus don’t follow their father’s lead and instead turned to LaLiga.

The Ganassa Report The State of European Football in Asia ©2020 Ganassa LLC, Japan Local Voices Neil Humphreys is an island hopper. Born in the UK, he has also I don’t think it makes much difference,” Neil responded. “Well, I Finally, having lived on three islands across different continents, lived in Australia and Singapore, but throughout his travels one think it makes a difference for Manchester United and Liverpool we asked how Asian football differs from that of Australia and the thing hasn’t changed – his love of football. This passion has made because it reinforces the connection you already have. But I can’t United Kingdom. “I think the level of support is bigger in Asia than him the most popular football pundit in the little red dot of imagine a young kid in Toa Payoh (a town in Singapore) goes to his in Australia,” Neil replied. “I just think it’s unfortunate that the Singapore, and he now spearheads the English Premier League first game with his father at Sports Hub (National Stadium in fandom and passion are directed in the wrong way. It’s directed (EPL) analysis of one of the country’s most popular newspapers. Singapore) and becomes an Aston Villa supporter for the rest of his more towards foreign football than local. If you added 20% of the After the enthralling weekend fixtures, Singapore begins its life. It could happen, but in the age of digital media, I don’t think passion shown towards the EPL into Asian football, it would be Monday mornings with Neil. one live match at Sports Hub is as powerful as 50 live matches on unstoppable, because you have a bigger population here. your phone every single week. I’m not saying that the live Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan are large countries with experience is not powerful – there is nothing more powerful than huge populations. I think they have the passion, just as much as in live football – I just don’t know if Everton visiting Singapore once England, if not more – I don’t think many English people would get every three years would suddenly create a lot of Everton up at four in the morning to watch the Champions League, but they supporters in Singapore. If Everton were to suddenly win the do that here and then go to work. Some of the games in Malaysia league, playing good football every week on the television, that is are crazy. When I went to Johore, the atmosphere was amazing. It’s more likely to make you an Everton supporter than one game intense. It’s like South America. where unfit players compete at 20% capacity in an exhibition because all they care about is not getting injured.” A Briton could be forgiven for arriving at Changi Airport and wondering if it’s game-day. People flock about wearing football jerseys when they are shopping, dining and even going to work. We met Neil at a bustling Singaporean hawker in order to better We asked how ‘football uniform as fashion’ has become a norm in understand where European football stands in the country, and Singapore and how different things are in Europe. “Last week, I began our chat with how the EPL has become the most-watched was eating breakfast at a local hotel while on a staycation,” Neil league on this tiny island. “The biggest selling point of the EPL began. “Trust me, I’m not a snob – I was just wearing a polo shirt across Asia is English,” Singapore’s best-selling author replied. – but at the next table there was a husband and wife both wearing “The matches and commentary are in English, which is the most United jerseys. It’s different here! Because it’s not cheap. My “Even if my books became popular and some miracle happened in spoken language in Singapore. Moreover, it is also commonly clothes only cost me 10 bucks and a United shirt is more than 100. another country, I would honestly still come back to Singapore. It’s spoken in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Italian isn’t. Spanish So, it’s like wearing Fred Perry or Ralph Lauren. But, where I’m still my home. Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore’s first prime minister) said isn’t. That is something Serie A and LaLiga tried to wrestle with for from you don’t wear football jerseys at a hotel, you wear football before he died: “If you are very clever and want to make a lot of many years, they even set up English-language websites, but they jerseys at the stadium. That’s just one very different thing. If I went money, travel the world but keep Singapore as your base”. just don’t have the same ‘natural’ feeling.” for a meal with my wife and tried to wear a West Ham jersey, she Singapore is not perfect, but there are many worse places to live Likewise, Singapore has been one of the top Asian destinations for would refuse to go out with me. It’s just a cultural difference. than here. Singapore is my home. It’s not perfect but it’s home.” European giants’ pre-season tours in recent years. We asked how Interestingly, it’s also about tribalism. It’s a pride thing.” those efforts could affect the popularity of clubs in Asia. “Honestly,

Most Fans in Singapore UEFA Ranking Deloitte Money League Most Followers Worldwide 1. Manchester U. 1. Real Madrid 1. Barcelona 1. Real Madrid 2. Liverpool 2. Atletico Madrid 2. Real Madrid 2. Barcelona 3. Arsenal 3. Barcelona 3. Manchester U. 3. Manchester U. 4. Barcelona 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 4. Bayern Munich 5. Chelsea 5. Juventus 5. PSG 5. Chelsea 6. Tottenham H. 6. Manchester C. 6. Manchester C. 6. Juventus 7. Real Madrid 7. PSG 7. Liverpool 7. PSG 8. Manchester C. 8. Liverpool 8. Tottenham H. 8. Manchester C. 9. Juventus 9. Manchester U. 9. Chelsea 9. Arsenal 10. Bayern Munich 10. Arsenal 10. Juventus 10. Liverpool *June 2020 *2018/19 *June 2020

Survey’s Creator and Director: Cesare Polenghi

With the Cooperation of: Youngsub Lee, Alberto Cazzaniga, Sean Carroll, Charlie Houghton and Stuart Woodward

Special Thanks to: Mi Hyun Chung, Federico Casotti

Street Interviews by: Youngsub Lee

Pictures by: BVB Asia, SingaporeSpurs, Juventus Fan Club Singapore, @themandalorian, Cesare Polenghi

Japan China Korea Rep.

Indonesia Vietnam Singapore FREE DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE AT: www.ganassa.jp/download