Category: Asia

Asia

Indian football at a tipping point

THE FUTURE OF the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League looks a little uncertain as the country’s governing bodies grapple with creating the optimal structure for the game in Asia’s third biggest economy. While the Indian Super League continues to form new business partnerships and starts to develop young players, spectator appetite seems to be on the decline. Last season, average attendances dropped to 13,000 … Continue reading Indian football at a tipping point

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Asia

World Football Summit Asia: A magnet for the football Industry

ASIA PACIFIC represents one of the key growth markets for global football, with new supporters, business opportunities and emerging powers from the region. Although Europe dominates the world game, market experts are predicting that clubs from Asia will eventually compete alongside more established names from football’s traditional heartlands. The rising importance of Asia is one of the main reasons the World Football Summit is hosting its first … Continue reading World Football Summit Asia: A magnet for the football Industry

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Asia

GOTP Notepad: Kashima on the brink of glory?

JAPAN’S KASHIMA Antlers took a two-goal lead in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final, despite their coach believing they were too cautious against Iran’s Persepolis. The Antlers, playing in their first final, had to thank their two Brazilians, Léo Silva and Serginho for giving them a two-goal advantage on November 3 in front of 35,000 people. Go Oiwa, the Antlers’ coach, said … Continue reading GOTP Notepad: Kashima on the brink of glory?

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Asia

Untapped potential – the importance of Asia to European football

IN this summer’s narrow pre-season break, Ligue 1, Serie A and La Liga all played their super cup matches in overseas territory. The French took their game to Guandong in China, the Italians went to Saudi Arabia and La Liga played their super cup in Tangier. This was all about exporting their competitions to new territories and reaching out to potential new fans. A few … Continue reading Untapped potential – the importance of Asia to European football

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Africa, Americas, Asia

GOTP Notepad: Across the confederations – Champions Leagues

IT IS easy to forget that Europe does not have a monopoly on Champions league competitions. Here’s the latest situation in the other confederations. Libertadores Cup The last 16 starts on August 8 and finishes towards the end of that month. There are six teams from Argentina, six from Brazil, two from Paraguay and one apiece from Chile and Colombia. Holders Grêmio of Brazil are … Continue reading GOTP Notepad: Across the confederations – Champions Leagues

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Asia

Urawa and Al-Hilal win through to AFC Champions League final

WHILE most of the attention focuses on the UEFA Champions League, the other continental competitions have been reaching a crucial stage in their 2017 campaigns. This week, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League final’s participants were decided: Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds. Al-Hilal are arguably Asia’s top club at the moment and are in first place in football database’s rankings. … Continue reading Urawa and Al-Hilal win through to AFC Champions League final

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Asia

The Chinese way ahead

IT IS a reasonable bet to assume that a Chinese team could win the Asian Champions League this season. Three clubs from the Chinese Super League reached the last 16 of the and one team from the world’s fastest-growing football league is guaranteed to be in the semi-finals as Shanghai SIPG and Guangzhou Evergrande will meet in the last eight of the competition. China is … Continue reading The Chinese way ahead

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Asia

Fierce ambition puts China at the top of the league

CHINESE outbound corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) may be set to cool this year but in the football world, China has the fattest wallet when it comes to buying into clubs. As another English club – Southampton – is poised to be bought by a Chinese company, ThinkingLinking, a UK-based cross-border M&A company reveals that between 2012 and 2014, China was involved in over EUR … Continue reading Fierce ambition puts China at the top of the league

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Asia

Japan and the J-League – substituting the reserve

FOR A city with 14 million people, Tokyo seems a very quiet place. It is a metropolis of great contradictions, indeed Japan as a whole is a nation of great contrasts. Public transport runs on time with immaculate precision, but nobody speaks on the trains. At the same time, escalators talk to you, toilets warm your rear and squirt water into your nether regions, the … Continue reading Japan and the J-League – substituting the reserve

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Asia

You’ll have to come a long way, baby: Chinese football and power

THEY may be spending Yuan by the bucketful and interest in the game is at an all-time high, but can Chinese football clubs really challenge the European leviathans? With Deloitte’s latest Football Money League released this week, the professional services group is preparing the way for an insurgence of new money breaking into the top 30 in the future. It may be a little premature, … Continue reading You’ll have to come a long way, baby: Chinese football and power

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Asia

Oscar and China: Can you really blame him?

IF THERE is any nationality of footballer that epitomises “have boots, will travel”, it is surely the Brazilian. They are everywhere – no matter where you go, you’ll find them in the squad, sometimes in some unusual places. As 2017 looms on the horizon, Chinese clubs may be about to add to the already lengthy list of Brazilians plying their trade in the Chinese Super … Continue reading Oscar and China: Can you really blame him?

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Asia

Antlers keep Japanese interest high

THEY WERE little more than the token host nation representative to keep local interest alive, but Kashima Antlers are now one game away from the FIFA Club World Cup final. The Antlers won their second game in the 2016 competition when they beat Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-final game in Osaka. This follows their previous win against Auckland in the preliminary round. It has been … Continue reading Antlers keep Japanese interest high

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