Football is becoming a more connected game with each passing day. Gone are the times when fans were unaware of what was happening on the opposite side of the world. Instead, because of the supply of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, fans are more connected to the sport than ever before.
As a result, these same fans are as fiercely loyal within the virtual world as they’re in the true world. After all, the band’s Facebook page needs support too!
So, FOX Sports Asia, take a have a look at the five Asian clubs which are hottest with fans. For this purpose, they follow Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as these are probably the most relevant social media platforms for football and subsequently attract the best percentage of fans.
As of October this 12 months, these are the Asian clubs:
#5 KERALA CHAMPIONSHIP (3.6 million, India)
Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters finished fifth. As the name suggests, the team relies in Kochi, Kerala and is one in every of the founding members of ISL.
Over the years, Kerala has welcomed several star attractions, which in turn has expanded the club’s offerings. From David James to Dimitar Berbatov, a few of the sport’s greats have played on the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. Blasters’ value is enhanced by the undeniable fact that, until recently, the team’s owner was arguably the best Indian athlete in history: Sachin Tendulkar.
Nevertheless, probably the most dominant reason for Kerala’s fan community is the undeniable fact that the club relies in a soccer-crazy region, making it the preferred Indian club and the fifth hottest Asian club online. And without winning the title!
#4 PERSIJA JAKARTA (4.2 million, Indonesia)
Though Kerala Blasters was founded recently, Persija’s roots have permeated history for the last 90 years.
Persija Jakarta was founded in November 1928 as VIJ Jakarta with motives beyond football. Two years later they’re helping to create United States, ushering in a brand new era of Indonesian football. Persija went on to win the league 10 times, making them probably the most successful club in Indonesia.
Although they last won the league title 17 years ago, in 2001, the club has still managed to keep up an enormous fan base. In turn, a lot of these fans also found ways to support their club online, making Persija the fourth hottest, with the club’s Instagram account amassing 1.4 million followers.
#3 AL-ITTIHAD (4.6 million, Saudi Arabia)
“More than a club” – words that represent FC Barcelona and every little thing that the Catalan club stands for. However, what it’s possible you’ll not know is that there may be one other club that lives these words.
Third place goes to Jeddah’s Al-Ittihad, the second most successful club in Saudi Arabia’s league history. “People’s Club” won this trophy eight times, also adding several championship titles in national cups to its achievements.
Ittihad has also enjoyed success on the continent, with the Jeddah-based club winning the AFC Champions League twice.
Over the years, Ittihad has amassed an enormous fan base, accommodating them in its 60,000-seat stadium. They are also the second hottest Saudi club on social media with 4.6 million followers!
#2 AL-HILAL (11.3 million, Saudi Arabia)
What’s more annoying than being second best in any field? Be second best to your rival! Unfortunately for Al-Ittihad, they’re at all times inferior to Al-Hilal of Riyadh.
The rivalry between each clubs really showed what Saudi football is all about. However, for fs bragging rights, Al Hilal is miles ahead of them.
The Riyadh-based club is just not only probably the most successful national team, but has also won many continental competitions. Al Hilal holds a record six Asian Football Confederation titles, winning two AFC Champions League titles, a Super Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup each. As a result, they were recognized by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics as the very best Asian club of the twentieth century.
When it involves social media followers, Al Hilal can only are available second place with a whopping 11.3 million followers, with over 80% of them coming from Twitter.
#1 PERSIB BANDUNG (15.4 million, Indonesia)
For starters, Persib Bandung from Indonesia is probably the most followed on social media. The West Javan club has a staggering 15.4 million fans, with 9.7 million of them following them on Facebook alone. Another 3.2 and a couple of.5 million followers on Twitter make them the preferred Asian club on social media.
Even more astonishing is the undeniable fact that the club has roughly 5.3 to five.5 million fans across Indonesia, indicating that a lot of its social media followers come from elsewhere. The reason for that is Persib’s investment in players corresponding to Michael Essien and Carlton Cole, who in turn helped the Indonesian club gain international fame.
However, in the case of club success, Persib has nothing to boast about. In terms of numbers, they were the second best team within the country United States (5) and Liga 1 (2) are successful, with just one President’s Cup to their name.
Source : Fox Sports Asia
