{"id":35321,"date":"2025-08-21T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/?post_type=press-release&#038;p=35321"},"modified":"2025-08-19T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T07:08:09","slug":"despite-softening-interest-chinese-football-clubs-demonstrate-brand-strength-through-tradition-and-loyalty","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/press-releases\/despite-softening-interest-chinese-football-clubs-demonstrate-brand-strength-through-tradition-and-loyalty","title":{"rendered":"Despite softening interest, Chinese football clubs demonstrate brand strength through tradition and loyalty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong><em>New Brand Finance data reveals Chinese football clubs currently have a 33% following, down from 37% in 2024<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shandong Taishan crowned the strongest football club in China<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beijing Guoan comes in second with consistent on-field performance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legacy club Shanghai Shenhua is the third strongest club in China<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two most valuable football clubs in the world<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BEIJING, 21 August 2025<\/strong> \u2013 While interest in domestic football in China has declined to 33% in 2025, many national level clubs continue to demonstrate strong brand resilience, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/brandirectory.com\/reports\/football\/2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Football 50 2025<\/a> report by Brand Finance, the world\u2019s leading brand valuation consultancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legacy teams like <strong>Shanghai Shenhua<\/strong> and <strong>Beijing Guoan<\/strong> remain anchored by loyal fans and cultural heritage, while rising clubs such as <strong>Chengdu Rongcheng<\/strong> are building momentum through modern branding and local engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year\u2019s market research findings by Brand Finance show that clubs with either deep-rooted identity or innovative fan engagement are best positioned to thrive. Emotional connection, community relevance, and dynamic matchday experiences continue to be key drivers of brand strength in the evolving Chinese football landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking the title as China\u2019s strongest football club ranked this year is <strong>Shandong Taishan<\/strong>, earning a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 57.6\/100 and an A brand strength rating. After placing fifth in the domestic league last year, the club continues to demonstrate consistency, regularly appearing in the AFC Champions League and reaching the quarter-finals in the 2023\/24 season. Shandong also performs strongly in away matches, reflecting its enduring strength on the national stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In second place is Beijing Guoan, with a BSI score of 56.3\/100, and an A brand strength rating. The club has shown consistent performance over the past three seasons, finishing sixth in 2023, fourth in 2024 and is currently second in the 2025 Chinese Super League. Their on-pitch stability has translated into brand strength, and they have also secured qualification for the AFC Champions League 2 in the 2025\/26 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rounding off the top three is Shanghai Shenhua, posting a BSI score of 54.7\/100, and an A brand strength rating. As one of the founding clubs of Chinese football, Shenhua is closely tied to Shanghai\u2019s identity, with its loyal 'Blue Blood' fans driving strong perceptions of heritage (27%) and passion (30%), according to Brand Finance\u2019s market research data. The club currently tops the 2025 league and recently reached the 2023\/24 AFC Cup quarter-finals, reflecting growing consistency on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Scott Chen, Managing Director, Brand Finance China, <\/strong>commented:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\"Chinese football is evolving from a numbers game to a narrative game. The clubs strengthening their brands are not simply winning matches; they are building meaning. Whether through heritage, consistent performance or local engagement, the strongest clubs are those turning cultural relevance into lasting brand value.\"<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Other notable Chinese football clubs in the rankings are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shenzhen Peng City <\/strong>\u2013 ranked fourth (BSI score of 53.7\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dalian Yingbo <\/strong>\u2013 ranked fifth (BSI score of 53.7\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chengdu Rongcheng <\/strong>\u2013 ranked sixth (BSI score of 53.1\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Henan FC <\/strong>\u2013 ranked seventh (BSI score of 52.3\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shanghai Port <\/strong>\u2013 ranked eighth (BSI score of 51.4\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Qingdao West Coast <\/strong>\u2013 ranked ninth (BSI score of 51.3\/100)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wuhan Three Towns <\/strong>\u2013 ranked 10th (BSI score of 51.0\/100)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Global Insights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Real Madrid <\/strong>and <strong>Barcelona<\/strong> are the two most valuable football clubs in the world. Real Madrid\u2019s brand value rose 14% to EUR1.9 billion, while Barcelona\u2019s increased by 11% to EUR1.7 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Premier League<\/strong> is the world\u2019s most valuable sports league in terms of brand value with its top 10 brand values totalling EUR8.2 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Brand Finance data reveals Chinese football clubs currently have a 33% following, down from 37% in 2024 BEIJING, 21 August 2025 \u2013 While interest in domestic football in China has declined to 33% in 2025, many national level clubs continue to demonstrate strong brand resilience, according to the Football 50 2025 report by Brand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[12,39,11],"class_list":["post-35321","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-brand-valuation","tag-china","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/35321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35321"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/35321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35344,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/35321\/revisions\/35344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}