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recent study by Nielsen Sports has predicted China will be responsible for one-third of all growth in the global sport sponsorship market over the next 10 years.

Nielson acknowledged all nations are recovering at differing speeds after the destruction of economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reiterated, the slow introduction of vaccines will make the easing back into normality simpler for some, and difficult for others.

According to the World Bank in January, China’s economy is expected to expand by 7.9% for 2021, following 2% growth in 2020, which will be the fastest and largest expansion globally.

In comparison, US GDP is predicted to fall 0.1%, whilst the Euro area is predicted to contract 3.8% over the same period.

Nielsen noted the journey of sporting investment for the Chinese commenced at the Beijing Olympics, with “Chinese companies increasingly using sports sponsorship as a platform to support the growth of their brands,” the study said.

Chinese smartphone company, Vivo, is one of these brands, and has seen significant growth recently.

They are a major sponsor of FIFA, with football being seen as large investment opportunity in China for some time now.

Vivo were also title sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL) until political tensions brought that deal to an end early.

Chinese-based brands had a +8.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in sponsorship spend between 2015 and 2019, noting the way brands in China are using sponsorship and sports platforms to enter new markets.