Argentina, the team with the most Chinese sponsors

A little for the Messi effect, a little for the memory of Maradona, perhaps because he was the last champion of the Copa América, Argentina is all the rage in China. This is the football team with the most sponsors in that country: so far, 6 companies It is now possible to use the official team logo and images of the players who will participate in the World Cup in Qatar to promote and increase your sales in a country with more than 1,300 million inhabitants.

Until now, The AFA managed to raise $ 5 million from virtually unknown companies in Argentina but very popular in the Asian giant. The list includes Wanda Investment Group, Yili Group (one of the 5 largest dairy companies in the world), Pan Pan Foods (snacks and beverages), GAC Mitsubishi (automobile manufacturer), W88 (betting company) and China NetEase Media (a news app that works like a social network).

“We have almost closed two other Chinese sponsors and in total we have accredited 22“, he said to Clarione Leandro Petersen, sales and marketing manager of the AFA. In the advertising field, in China, Argentina is the favorite of this World Cup. Brazil, England and Germany have no Chinese sponsors, although the European championships are the most popular in that part of the world.

At AFA they claim to reap the rewards of years of work. A delegation from the parent company of football was held in 2019 the first turnover in Beijing in front of 30 CEOs and later agreements were made with two agencies to promote trade agreements. One of them is All star partners, which developed the entire digital campaign in China and on that country’s social networks. The other is Wanda Sportfrom the group of the same name.

Chinese sponsorships to the AFA they already represent between 10 and 15% of the total. And companies are already making a profit. Most of them have already launched products of all kinds (snacks, drinks, merchandising, official jerseys and dairy products, among others), almost all marked in blue and white and with images of the stars of the national team: Messi, Di María, “Dibu” Martínez, Dybala and Julián Alvarez.

One of the latest agreements was with the car manufacturer GAC Mitsubishi, a joint venture led by the Chinese company and in which the Japanese brand also participates. Last year produced more than 20 million units, but no one has arrived in the country. The Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), according to Petersen, has already posted an ad with images of Messi, Di María and Lautaro Martínez from behind. “They are also about to launch a limited edition of cars with Argentine colors“explains the manager.

The national team is the favorite in China, at least in the advertising aspect. Petersen anticipates that other sponsorships may be closed before the start of the World Cup, including a video game company and another in the electronics industry. They also closed a deal with the portal of e-commerce Taobao (which belongs to the powerful Alibaba group) to the market about 80 products bearing the official Argentine brand: t-shirts, key rings, sweatshirts, watches and merchandising in general.

Argentina and China have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of bilateral relations. In this context, the Argentine ambassador to Beijing, Sabio Vaca Narvaja, comments that “in this country they love Argentina and our country’s football”. Fanaticism is not limited to Messi. “They also love and admire Maradona and Riquelme,” added the official.

“In sports, they are fans of football, the Premier League and other European leagues and even the NBA,” Petersen completes. Basketball got attention when Yao Ming signed to the Houston Rockets and led that team for several seasons.