English football club Liverpool says that it wants to cash on its newfound popularity in China.
Major opportunity
According to Liverpool managing director Billy Hogan, China's plans to further invest in football opens up a lot of opportunities for the club. Hogan noted that they now have a significant following in the country, with more than 2 million followers on Weibo, China's popular microblogging website, the Daily Post reported.
The Liverpool head said that they are now looking into the more ways they can tap into the market after having done so many activities for it in the past.
In January, the club celebrated Chinese New Year by getting manager Jurgen Klopp to team up with U.K. University table tennis sensation Liu Haoyu for a match against Robert Firmino and Philippe Coutinho. The friendly game netted more than two million views on the club's Chinese social media pages.
The Reds are also set to play pre-season games in Hong Kong and Shanghai as part of the Premier League's Asia Trophy tour in July.
Huge earnings
According to reports, Liverpool is currently the third most popular foreign club in China, behind Manchester United and Bayern Munich. It sits alongside Premier League rival Arsenal. The report was compiled using data from Chinese social media sites like Weibo and WeChat, as well as audience figures for the games televised in the country.
Liverpool's efforts in China proved to be a success, being a large contributor to the $370 million worth of revenues the club posted in 2016. the Business Insider reported.
The reds also became the first British club to open an online football store in China, partnering with the country's second largest internet marketplace JD.com. The store, which opened in June, features officially licensed Liverpool merchandise to its Chinese fans.
Hogan said that China's growing attention to football has done not just them favors, as the Premier League has announced a new broadcasting deal for the country, allowing more teams the exposure.