Football clubs have a conversion problem in APAC. Localization is the answer

Football still sets the pace. While padel, tennis, and Hyrox draw fresh players and fresh investment, football’s commercial engine hasn’t slowed: demand for club memorabilia remains strong enough that several clubs are opening retail-style business hubs in target regions to capture it directly.

That commercial reach never stopped at matchday. Players have long doubled as celebrities and fashion influencers, and clubs have built entire businesses around that appeal. What’s shifting now is geography: teams are courting APAC’s most engaged fan bases in Indonesia, China, South Korea, and Japan, often through limited-run merchandise tied to carefully selected collaborations.

Football fandom in APAC: the 2026 state of play 

A familiar sight echoes across Asia’s streets, where a liberating scene unfolds in a concrete jungle like Jakarta. Flocked with kids playing football freely after school, for many it is about togetherness and inclusivity; a game where everyone can play. 

According to YouGov international 2024 data, a fifth (21%) of APAC residents regularly watch or read about football matches events on a regular basis. Football commanded the highest APAC following in Indonesia at 31 percent, with Thailand at 27 percent, Hong Kong at 24 percent, Singapore at 20 percent, and Australia at 17 percent. 

The fascination with Asian football culture runs deep. Local collectives such as Shanghai’s grassroots club and creative community ANAR FC are introducing the world to the football scene through an Asian cultural lens. They even host events and release merchandise including jerseys. In Japan, football magazines such as SHUKYU cover the diversity of football culture across Asia.

And as these kids having a kickabout grow, the football culture community in the country is maturing alongside them. This generation will spend their adult money on football merchandise.  

European clubs move into APAC 

Today, many European clubs are building their fan bases in the region. 

Football passion has brought pre-season games to Asia, with Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, and Aston Villa FC visiting APAC regions where long-time fans now have the money for tickets. 

Several European football clubs have also employed platforms which Chinese fans can access, with Bayern Munich operating on JD.com and Douyin, and AC Milan on TMall. 

Indonesian kit designer Fajar Ramadhan observes: “More jersey options are now available in Indonesia, and the market is so huge that Liverpool FC opened a retail store in Jakarta, Surabaya dan Bali.”  

Indeed football is Indonesia’s most popular sport. 

While Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia are regarded as the nests of “die-hard” fans for football culture due to their burning passion, China has proved itself as a growing market in this sphere, with a substantial football culture, historically established from the top down. 

Particularly, as Edi Obiakpani-Reid’s Sinobabble Substack explains, when Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged China to be the front-runner in football, with its own die-hard fans too. 

But for clubs hoping to break into the APAC market, there has to be more than a simple transposition of strategy from West to Eastern markets. 

How APAC fans differ from European football fans 

One distinctive way Chinese fans differ from European football fans comes down to their player-centric approach, following specific and particular athletes rather than staying loyal to a single club, marking a dynamic which clubs in the region cannot afford to ignore. 

Moqian Sun, a bilingual UK-based digital marketing strategist and founder of The Harvest, shared an interesting insight into APAC fandom, noting the growing consumption of match content and e-commerce infrastructure, but a far weaker ability to monetize overseas club IP than during 2015 to 2017. 

“Social followings, topic views and video plays are just the low-barrier metrics, thus their link to purchases of authentic shirts, paid memberships, or repeat sales remain weak. One survey of football consumers in China revealed that only 27 percent of respondents had purchased football-related merchandise, while the remaining 73 percent had never done so.”  

Sun adds that clothing, footwear and headwear were the dominant categories among purchasers. 

However, Sun goes on to point out that football culture continues to grow. But to generate sales at scale, clubs need a model tailored to, for example, the Chinese market itself, including a local licensee or platform store, products also tailored to Chinese consumers, and live-streaming or content-led shopping. 

Additionally, tackling counterfeits requires ongoing efforts depending mainly on Chinese trademark registrations, platform IP complaints, take-downs, and cooperation with enforcement authorities. 

Local collaborations and localized merchandise 

While fans watch their favorite players on the field, football shirts and merchandise have long been a fashion statement and a way for clubs to stay accessible and affordable even to non-football fans.  

Many retail shops now localize the brand for fans, with Liverpool FC teaming up with Japanese publisher and creative storyteller Kodansha in 2021, to bring “local connections” between the Japanese audience and Liverpool FC.  This resulted in, for example, 2025’s jerseys featuring a Japanese typeface and player names by calligrapher Riu Akizuki for a pre-season match against Japan’s Yokohama FM. 

For some, it was just a typeface, but for others it was a statement. 

Another example is Paris Saint-Germain FC, who teamed up with Japanese streetwear designer and artist Verdy for a special Tokyo edition, creating exclusive merchandise and a collection of hoodies and shirts. 

Meanwhile, the Paris-based club also teamed up with K-pop legend G-Dragon, securing an exclusive Nike deal for his PEACEMINUSONE line. A collaboration with this level of star power guarantees instant fan recognition and a direct tie to the appointed idol: a win-win for everyone. 

The movement, however, does not stop at Europe’s big clubs. Ramadhan further shared that local APAC clubs are now gaining fan appreciation, and for a designer like him, that trend is truly a blessing. 

“More local fans are now [more] aware of their local teams,” the designer reflected, having previously designed for both Persija  (Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta) and Persela Sepakbola Lamongan.  

Community over reach: the Como 1907 model 

For Sun, establishing a community around a club still matters most, referring to top-tier Italian team Como 1907’s approach and further noting that the bond created by clubs serves football culture in China. 

Como 1907 brought in Rhuigi Villaseñor – former creative director of luxury brand Bally – as its first chief brand officer in 2024, pushing the business off the pitch into new territory. Villaseñor’s stated aim at the time was envisaging Como 1907 as a global lifestyle brand: “I’m excited to help shape the future of Como 1907 and its wider ventures, blending fashion, football, and lifestyle in a way that feels effortless.”  

“Como lacks the global superstar brand and resource scale of Bayern Munich, PSG, or Milan,” explains Sun. “But instead of chasing broad follower growth, Como’s strategy needs sharp targeting, around committed fan communities over mass-traffic. However, its model can drive higher customer value in narrow segments [high-net-worth tourism, lifestyle collaborations and diaspora or any Indonesian linked communities in SEA,” she concludes.

Fandom without conversion is not a business model

Football’s reach across APAC is not in question. The fandom is real, the cultural roots run deep, and the next generation of consumers is already forming habits around the sport. What remains unresolved is whether European clubs can translate that engagement into durable commercial relationships: the evidence suggests most have yet to crack it.

The clubs making progress are the ones treating APAC not as a single export market but as a collection of distinct cultures, each with its own fan behaviors, platform preferences and purchase triggers. Liverpool’s calligraphy jerseys, PSG’s Tokyo collaborations and Como 1907’s lifestyle positioning all point in the same direction: authentic local connection outperforms broadcast reach every time.

For sporting goods brands and retailers watching these trends, the lesson transfers directly. The APAC consumer will engage enthusiastically on social platforms, follow athletes closely and respond to culturally resonant product. But engagement does not automatically become a purchase. The conversion happens when the product, the platform and the community feel like they were built for that market — not exported to it.

Eastern views

Asia-Pacific insights for the sporting goods industry

Analysis, insights, and expert perspectives on the sporting goods industry across Asia-Pacific — covering market trends, manufacturing, retail, and brand strategy from China to Southeast Asia to Oceania. With Jakarta-based contributing editor Yohana Belinda.

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