Breaking into the Asian market

The Asian market is one that every sports league throughout the world is hoping to get into. With China being the most populous nation in the world, with over a billion people, there is a lot of money to be made over there. Recently a popular Brazilian soccer team, Corinthians FC, signed a young Chinese player to their roster. It was strictly a move to help expand the team's brand overseas to Asia, and China more specifically. According to Corinthians FC's president "European teams are ahead of the curve in breaking into the Asian market, but we are not gonna be left behind."

Spanish soccer has been aggresively pursuing the Asian market, and a few days ago they made the biggest move yet. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the company United Vansen International Sport agreed for five of the next seven Spanish Supercups to be played in China. The RFEF will be charging around 30 million euros, and a significant portion will go straight into the pockets of the clubs playing in the cup. The supercup in 2012 will still be held in Spain, because it is already too late to move around FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF's pre season schedules. However, starting in 2013 the Spanish Supercup will be played in Chinese soil, with the venues still to be announced. 

It will be interesting to see what the Spanish people will have to say about this bold move by their federation, even with the financial implications being so large. The Spanish Supercup is a historic competition, where the winner of the Copa Del Rey will play the Spanish league champion in the first game of the season.