As the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) kicked off, Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. unveiled its new sponsor, Sinobo Group, the majority shareholder of the club, by displaying its corporate logo on the front of the jerseys during the first CSL game against Shandong Luneng Taishan on March 4th.

Wu Ning, Vice President of Sinobo Group and Board Director of Beijing Guoan, commented: “As a CSL club with a long history, the club has established a passionate fan base, influential brand image and great commercial value.”

According to Wu, the club turned down offers from a financial company offering more than 100 million yuan in sponsorship, and a large internet firm that didn’t put up a reasonable price, citing in both cases that the two companies’ core values didn’t seem to fit with Guoan.

From the standpoint of Wu, in modern times, jersey ads are a very important way for professional football clubs to display their brand values. Therefore, when choosing a commercial partner, Beijing Guoan takes into consideration both financial elements as well as brand building when selecting a partner.

“We hope that our shirts are not simply an advertising space for brands, but a platform where we can provide our sponsors with better services and support, bringing them a greater return on investment.”

In 2016, Forbes listed Beijing Guoan as the second most valuable Chinese soccer team, with an estimated revenue of 30 million dollars and a team value of 167 million dollars in 2015, just below its CSL rival, Guangzhou Evergrand Taobao.

According to a Bloomberg report in January 2017, after the investment of Beijing-based property developer Sinobo Land Co., Beijing Guoan’s value had increased to more than $800 million. Beijing Guoan changed its name to Beijing Sinobo Guoan after the transaction, which made the club jump to a value even higher than the $795 million fetched by AC Milan from its Chinese investors.

According to Guoan’s resources promotion meeting in November 2017, the club has a three-level sponsorship model, in which Official Partner, Sponsor and Supplier have to pay at least 50 million yuan, 5 million yuan and 1 million yuan respectively. At the same time, the club also released its sponsor recruiting plan regarding ad rights on player jerseys, during home games and other sponsorship opportunities.

Specifically, Beijing Guoan provides sponsorship opportunities in the 2018 season as follows: 1 brand can pay 100 million yuan to display its logo on the jersey-fronts, 2 brands can each pay 25 million yuan to acquire sponsorship rights on the back of the jersey, and 1 brand can pay 12 million yuan to become sponsor on the sleeve.

Game-day Advertising Rights on Beijing Guoan’s Home Field

Other Beijing Guoan-related Promotions

On the other hand, we also know that Beijing Guoan has not made any remarkable achievements in recent years, as it has not won a league championship since 2009. Looking back, the team won 1 league championship in 2009, 2 CFA Super Cup titles in 1997 and 2003, and 3 CFA Cup championships in 1996, 1997 and 2003.

In addition to this, the club has an enthusiastic fan base in China, with about 40,000 spectators attending at Guoan’s home field, Beijing Workers’ Stadium, in 2016 season. Unfortunately, the fans of Beijing Sinobo Guoan negatively affects the club’s commercial value, since most Guoan fans are Beijing locals who antagonize the fans of other CSL clubs.

Proofread by William Logsdon