Steady rise of the AFC’s brand lauded by AFC Marketing Committee

 The ever-growing affinity between the passionate fans of Asian football and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s brand and competitions were the key focus at the 1^st AFC Marketing Committee meeting held virtually on Thursday.

Led by Chairperson Dasho Ugen Tsechup, the Committee recognised the positive findings of the Audience Research Data, which was conducted by Turnstile between December 2021 and May 2022. This was aimed at assessing the health of football and the AFC’s assets following a similar research initiative undertaken in 2018 and 2019.

The survey polled more than 10,000 respondents, aged between 16 to 64, across 10 major markets in Asia, namely Australia, China PR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

The Committee noted that the total number of Football Fanatics, who are defined as the most important consumers of the sporting ecosystem representing approximately 80% of the revenues for all major sports, had risen by 14% since 2018.

Encouragingly, the findings pointed to Asia outstripping Europe and North America in the expansion of the Football Fanatics category whilst the total reach of those indicating ‘Any Interest’ in the AFC’s competitions exceeded the 2 billion mark out of an estimated population total of 2.38 billion.

Specific to AFC competitions, the report also outlined the considerable growth of the AFC Champions League™ and AFC Asian Cup™, both of which witnessed an increase of interest by approximately 8% and 7% respectively since 2018.

At the macro level, members of the Committee were pleased by the strong equity and affinity between Asian fans and the AFC’s competitions whilst also acknowledging that there is room for improvement in both appeal and brand associations amidst the backdrop of increasing competition in the entertainment offerings across most markets.

The Committee was also updated on the instrumental role of the AFC National Team and Club Competitions Brand Architecture in establishing a positive connection with the AFC’s brand and image; in particular, the launch of the logo of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ at the Official Final Draw ceremony in May was singled out for praise for its appealing and dynamic design.

Furthermore, the Committee were apprised of the series of on ground and fan engagement activations organised in the lead-up to the AFC Champions League™ 2022 Final, including the Influencer Engagement programme, which resulted in more than 96 million views and more than 30 million engagements across various digital channels.

There was also similar success in the Online Fan Quiz for both the East and West Regions, receiving more than 63 million impressions and reaching more than 28 million passionate fans – all of which played a pivotal role in generating greater excitement around the two-legged Final, which was attended by more than 100,000 passionate fans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Saitama, Japan.

Members of the Committee were also unanimous in noting the wide-ranging availability of the AFC’s competitions, thanks to a balanced approach of the AFC’s media rights strategy that seeks to optimise revenues, reach and brand building. There was a specific focus on the broadcast figures and coverage of the recently concluded AFC U20 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2023, which achieved a cumulative reach of 66 million fans across linear TV and 9.7 million across digital channels in more than 110 countries and territories.