The Sponsorship Experts have sponsored a new Asia Sponsorship News (ASN) report on the football market in Asia. The report, titled Football Asia Market Analysis 2023, shines the spotlight on the state of football sponsorship in Asia, including top-spending brands, a country-by-country breakdown, different sponsorship categories and the increasing popularity of Asian football.
Football remains an incredibly popular sport in Asia. The sport accounted for almost 31 percent of all sport sponsorship sold in 2022 and was valued at almost 2.5 times its nearest 2022 ‘rival’, the Olympics, and showed a 21 percent increase over the 4-year football average.
Japan, China, South Korea and Thailand dominated the Asian sponsorship market for football, accounting for USD1,540.8 million, or 94.5 percent of all football sponsorship sales in 2022.
Although the industry experienced a 40 percent slump in 2021 due to the pandemic, there has been a significant rebound, and overall sales in 2022 were close to pre-pandemic levels. South Korea was the only single country to experience growth over 2019, at 39 percent. The Pan-Asia sector - referring to multi-market deals that expand across multiple countries - experienced growth over 2019 of 66 percent.
Japan remains at the top of the country table with sales of USD452.5 million. The country remains one of the most mature football nations in Asia; this year saw the J. League’s three divisions expand to 60 members across 41 of 47 prefectures, and 19 of the country’s 26 players at the 2022 FIFA World Cup currently play for clubs in Europe.
Financial services, apparel and automobiles are the top three sponsorship categories, with Standard Chartered, Nike, Spotify, SWM Motors and Adidas spending the most money in 2022. The five account for 23 percent of all sponsorship spend.
The report paints a picture of a very healthy Asian football sponsorship market that is likely to only gain traction in the coming years. A record six Asian teams qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Asia is hosting the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup.
“There is no doubt that the only way for football in Asia is up, and that is reflected in the sponsorship market in the region,” said Paul Poole, Founder of Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. “I’m very pleased to work with the team at ASN to monitor and support this exciting industry.”
ASN is the leading market intelligence service for the sponsorship industry in Asia, which distributes independent news, analytics and insights on a subscription basis, with a bespoke consultancy and training service.
ASN is operated by Asia Sponsorship News Co., Ltd. a subsidiary of Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd.
Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. is an independent marketing consultancy based in Bangkok, Thailand specialising in commercial sponsorship and partnership marketing, working with both rights holders and brands - acting as a catalyst by bringing them together and maximising the relationship.
We have packaged, sold and managed sponsorship and partnership opportunities for a wide range of rights holders and worked with many of the world’s leading brands to source and engage the right sponsorships and partnerships for them to maximise.
