It's all kicking off for soccer

"Overall, the games (in Germany) are played at a fast pace," she said. "I like Werder Bremen because they are more attacking, although that means their defense often suffers, but the games are very exciting and full of surprises."

Fang started watching the Bundesliga after the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where Germany finished runners-up to Brazil. "At the time, watching the games in China wasn't easy, even online, so I mostly got my information from magazines," she said.

Today, matches from leagues around the world are available to stream for a small fee, or even free, on Chinese websites such as PPTV, LeTV and Sohu. According to Mailman, a China-based sports and entertainment agency, LeTV and the Scottish Premier League agreed a landmark deal worth 5 million yuan ($816,000) in July to live stream 55 matches in China next season.

Douban, an online Chinese social network with an estimated 53 million users, also has thousands of groups dedicated to lesser-known soccer teams - including one for my beloved Middlesbrough FC.

In fact, online communities and social media have played a key part in the saturation of soccer brands in China, said Simon Chadwick, a professor at Coventry University's Centre for International Business of Sport.

"A sense of fraternity is very important to Chinese fans, and the rapid growth of social media enables them to gather and discuss all aspects of 'their' team or league," he said.

Signing Chinese players has also helped teams overseas boost their following. For example, VfL Wolfsburg enjoyed more coverage in China last season after the arrival of China international Zhang Xizhe. (However, the player did not make a first-team appearance and was later sold to Beijing Guoan.)

Chinese consortiums are also purchasing overseas clubs. In July, Sochaux became the first French club to be bought outright by a Chinese investor when Ledus purchased it for about $7 million. British media have also reported interest this summer in Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, both lesser-known English Premier League teams based in the Midlands.

So, with fans in China now more knowledgeable about leagues around the world, in the future when I ask which team someone supports, it could well be me left asking, "Who?"

craig@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/15/2015 page16)