Portugal´s Football Federation (FPF) will be the first to enter a strategic partnership with China´s social network Weibo, after having opened an online store at Alibaba Tmall.
With the partnership, FPF will deliver Weibo “new experiences and exclusive content” for football fans in China, seeking to increase the engagement that already exists with the Portuguese national team, current European Champions led by Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured above).
Weibo will also work with the FPF to develop an official fan community and create a new “national online stadium” for fans to watch more football, in China. According to a statement by FPF the greater engagement will strengthen the connection between Portugal and China, through the world of football.
The partnership with Weibo follows the opening, in early 2021, of an official national team store at Alibaba Tmall.
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FPF estimates that there are about twenty million fans of the national team in China, and believes it can add to this figure.
“We hope that our team can inspire a new generation of young Chinese footballers to reach their full potential and to strengthen the connection with millions of Portuguese fans in China who, despite the distance, are constantly expressing support for our players”, underlines the FPF´s Nuno Moura.
Zhan Sheng, general manager of Sina Sports, the company that controls Weibo, considers the partnership a milestone, since FPF is the first federation to create a strategic partnership with Weibo.
“In the future, both parties will deepen the distribution of content, operation of events and commercial development. Weibo will actively collaborate with the Portuguese Federation to increase the volume of digital communication and optimize social media assets”, he highlights.
According to Sheng, the Portuguese team already has “more than three million followers on Weibo” and is the biggest and fastest growing, as well as with the highest level of involvement in Weibo.
The head of Sina Sports says followers of the Portuguese team “continue to grow at an average of 30,000 users per month, with monthly views of more than ten million and thousands of interactions. “Portugal is one of the most relevant teams in China, drawing the attention of Weibo users through attractive content”, Sheng added.
