Off the wire
• S. Africa formalising Mandarin teaching: minister  • India's mining firm pledges commitment to Zambia operations  • Chinese premier congratulates over christening of panda cubs in Toronto Zoo  • Chinese company supports Mozambique's professional education  • Grenade blast kills one, injures 6 in Burundi bar  • EU health agency calls for "widespread" chlamydia testing  • NATO chief discusses Aegean mission, Syria situation with Turkish PM  • Social media use disturbs young Swedes' sleep: Poll  • China books ticket to Rio Olympics after beating South Korea 1-0  • Spotlight: UN body says Japan needs to do more to resolve "comfort women" issue  
You are here: 　 Home

Interview: Spanish football boss believes bright future of Chinese football

Xinhua, March 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Javier Tebas, the President of the Spanish Football League (LFP), believes the Chinese football league will become one of the "most important in the world," in the next five years.

Tebas made the declaration in an interview with Xinhua at an event which saw the LFP pick up an award for gaining over a million followers for its YouTube channel.

The Spanish league currently has more followers on YouTube than any other international football league, but in the wake of a series of major signings which have seen big money deals take players such as Jackson Martinez, Gervinho and Ramires to China, Tebas said he was impressed by the growth of the game in China.

"In the past they (the Chinese league) didn't get much for TV rights, but this year they have sold them for almost 400 million euros (around 450 million dollars) which means important money is arriving in Chinese football," he explained.

"I think the Chinese football will be among the most important in the world in the next five years because of the number of people there are," he said, before adding that for the moment he doesn't expect the Chinese league to become more popular than established leagues such as the Premier League, the LFP and the German Bundesliga, which have "a consolidated market."

The LFP President told Xinhua China was a "strategic market," for Spanish football and that the Spanish Football League has offices in "Beijing and Shanghai" as part of its marketing strategy.

"We want to be close to our partners because you have to share growth strategies with them. You also have to work with the internet and the possibilities offered by You Tube," he said.

The possibilities offered by the internet have allowed the LFP to expand into China and last season saw Spanish side's Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano play a friendly game in the country, while Real Madrid played three games there as part of their summer tour. One factor to bear in mind is the high use of smartphones by Chinese sports fans to watch their favorite teams.

"The Chinese don't only buy more smartphones than anyone, but they also use them the most: that is the key," said Tebas, explaining that in Europe 20 percent smartphone owners use their phones to watch TV, a number which rises to "45 percent," in China.

"That shows there is a huge market for sport on smartphones and we have to be there," he said.

In order to ensure its presence, the LFP has already adapted kick off times, establishing a game at midday on Sunday and bringing forward the start of games on Sunday to 16.00 hours local time.

"Next season we will have a game at 13.00 on Saturday s," he said, before explaining that it was one thing changing kick off times so games can be shown prime-time in Asia, but it was important to be aware there "are important local sports in China... So although we could have a premium kick off time not as many people would watch games because there are other sports on."

"You have to be able to choose the moment," he concluded. Endit