Professional Sport in Asia

Asia is a continent on the rise as the economic powerhouse of the world. While the Old World of Europe and the USA are struggling to get their economies back on track, the likes of China, India and the Asian Tigers continue to enjoy growth and increased overseas investment.

The emergence of a new class of citizens in Asia with more wealth than at any time in their history has also meant that demand for more "international" products is on the rise, including TV coverage of the best sport in the world. More people in Asia are subscribing to cable/satellite TV for the one carrot: sport, especially the English Premier League.

Liverpool v Singapore national football team

It's a marriage made in heaven: an area that has always loved football combined with a country that has the most broadcast football league in the world. It speaks of symbiosis through and through.

At the same time though, it's amazing that despite the wealth in the region, local professional leagues for any sport apart from cricket on the Indian Subcontinent struggle to get a tenth of the coverage and following of the European - and more 'trendy' and 'better' - leagues.

Case in point: more Malaysian football fans are likely to know every member of the Manchester United team than those in the Malaysian national team.

Yes, it is getting better but ask any candid Malaysian football fan on the road and 9 times out of 10, they'd know who Wayne Rooney is but not Khairul Fahmi - the country's best goalkeeper.

Wonder how many people know Malaysia is actually the best football nation in Southeast Asia at the moment after winning the regional competition in 2010 and the SEA Games gold in 2011?

Malaysia's most high profile athletes are not on the football field but in the badminton and squash courts. But their annual earnings pale in comparison to professional athletes in Europe, Australia, NZ and the USA.

The fact is that the concept of professional sport is still quite an alien concept to much of Asia. For most, playing sport is still not considered a career option like it has been for so long in the First World nations. Being of Chinese descent myself, I know that parents are pushing for their kids to go to university to prepare for jobs that are "safe" and "practical", i.e. medicine, law, finance. Professional athlete doesn't quite fit the bill.

However, there are signs that perceptions towards professional sport in Asia are changing and the most gifted athletes in the region are getting more opportunities to stay in the sport they enjoy and earn money doing what they love to do.

More sports academies and systems are also being put into place - Malaysia and Singapore probably have the best in Southeast Asia at the moment given they've been at it the longest and have the most money.

Malaysia Super League

More football clubs from Europe are twinning with clubs in Asia, opening doors for the most talented footballers to come to Europe to play amongst the best. This will only help enhance the quality of football amongst their compatriots.

However, more needs to be done and there is a massive reserve waiting to be tapped if the sponsors can see it.

Perhaps, the Indian Premier League may be the way to go for professional sports leagues to start grabbing the locals' attention. The conventional European methods probably won't work in Asia and the brash American methods may be considered too much as well. The IPL concept has been a success in India to the point that the Indian FA is now applying the concept to a revamped football top tier - and even World Cup winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro is getting amongst it.


With regards to football - and probably all other sports - I think regionalization is the way forward. After all, Asia is the world's largest continent and the distance between Riyadh and Tokyo is 11 hours - a massive distance to cover for a professional sports league. There's also plenty of cultural difference between the Middle East and Far East nations.

Singapore Sports Hub under construction

Football in Asia needs to be developed as per these regions:
1. Japan/Korea
2. China
3. Southeast Asia
4. Indian Subcontinent
5. Middle East
6. Central Asia
 

Asian Champions League 

By have more localized competitions, costs will be maintained and the likelihood of annual professional leagues within those regions is higher. There may also be a bit more interest in the so-called "local derbies", i.e. Singapore v Malaysia, Iran v Iraq. Of course, competition between countries in those regions will continue in the long run but development is more likely to happen on a regional basis rather than considering the continent as a whole.

Former Man Utd man, Nicky Butt now plays in Hong Kong

In 25 years time, professional sport in Asia will be up there with Europe and America and professional franchises, clubs and leagues will garner as much support and profile as their older peers. Yes there will still be fans of Manchester United and Real Madrid but they could be supporting Selangor or Shenzhen or Bangalore FC.

And yes I believe it'll be football and basketball to establish themselves in Asia (outside the cricket-mad sub continent) given they are the two sports that the people love there.

Field hockey and maybe even rugby might be in the mix too.