WUHAN vs ARMINIA BIELEFELD & CHINA U23 vs ENERGY COTTBUSS (FRIENDLY)

Some news about the friendly :

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German clubs in Asia as league goes on world offensive (DPA) 17 December 2007 HAMBURG - Three Bundesliga clubs have set off for tours of Asia this week as the German Football League (DFL) steps up its efforts to boost its image and marketing opportunities in the region. Borussia Dortmund are in Indonesia while Energie Cottbus and Arminia Bielefeld have dates in China as part of a DFL initiative during the Bundesliga winter break. It had been planned to have a fourth club, Eintracht Frankfurt, in Vietnam, but that country’s federation withdrew because of scheduling difficulties.
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Germany still has a lot of catching up to do in marketing the Bundesliga abroad where the English Premier League, the Spanish Primera Division and the Italian Serie A are far more popular. Although the four European leagues have marketed some 460 million euros (660 million dollars) worldwide this season, the Bundesliga share is only around 4 per cent, compared to 50 per cent by the Premier League. While football continues in England, Spain and Italy, the winter break in Germany thus provides an ideal opportunity to make some inroads, particular in Asian countries.

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‘Asia is an important market for us which is why we are deliberately active there,’ said Joerg Daubitzer, the DFL’s director of rights and licensing. ‘Our TV presence in 169 countries is now comparable with our competitors. However we need to continue working to capture more broadcasting time and to participate in the above-average growth rates in Asia.’ For this reason the DFL is concentrating on countries such as China and other Asian countries with fast-growing economies where there is a greater opportunity to capture a share of merchandising than in say Japan where the market is already well established.

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Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich made a quick visit to Hong Kong in the summer for a match against Brazilian side Sao Paolo. But the German clubs now in China and Indonesia will not only be playing matches but have scheduled charity and sponsoring events as well as activities such as youth training. Bielefeld, who play Wuhan FC on Tuesday and Shenhua SVA SMEF on Thursday, see themselves as ambassadors for the Bundesliga in China. ‘China is an enormous market from which about 400 million euros flows into the Premier League while the Bundesliga is getting merely 20 million from its marketing overall,’ Armenia president Hans-Hermann Schwick told the club magazine. He predicted that the top German teams will soon also be heading east to promote the league, while increased cooperation will lead to increasingly more Chinese players joining Bundesliga clubs.

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One player already in Germany is 27-year-old Shao Jiayi of Energie Cottbus who will be a top draw for the crowd when Cottbus take on the Chinese Olympic team in Foshan on Tuesday and the Chinese national team on Thursday in Guangzhou. Shao, capped 43 times for China, is one of the reasons for increased interest shown in the Bundesliga by Chinese fans. ‘The English Premier League is the clear number one but I think the Bundesliga now comes up behind it,’ he told Kicker sports magazine. Borussia Dortmund, who have the biggest average home crowds in Germany, are aiming to spread their popularity in Indonesia where on Wednesday they come up against the Indonesia national team in Jakarta. It is the second time this season Dortmund have travelled abroad to boost marketing opportunities after a friendly in Poland in early October against Legia Warsaw. Dortmund’s activities in Indonesia include a training session on Tuesday at which 100 local young players are invited. In the evening the team will attend a gala dinner with 200 guests including politicians and celebrities.

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The DFL is launching an international marketing group next year which aims to more than double the Bundesliga’s current worldwide annual marketing income between the summer of 2009 and 2015. But that there is still much to do was demonstrated in South Africa where, according to Kicker, German football missed an opportunity to increase its presence there when it was notably absent from Soccerex in Johannesburg, the world’s biggest football fair. The DFL is attempting to secure a television contract in South Africa where the Bundesliga hardly features with football fans. According to Kicker, fans can’t even find the Bundesliga football results in the newspapers, and the only German players who mean anything are Michael Ballack and Jens Lehmann - because they both play in England.

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FREAKTIPS PREDICTION:

No news about player line up and all. Never the less, since this is more of an exhibition match, I would expect an entertaining game for both friendlies with lots of goals to please the crowd. Entertaining soccer to boast the names of the visiting German clubs should be the main agenda today for both matches. Entertaining football = Lots of goals = More money and fans from China.

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Verdict :

Arminia Bielefeld Over 2.75 FT (1 STAR)

& Energy Cottbuss Over 2.75 FT (1 STAR)