Tencent To Build Chinese Site for Barcelona Football Club

Deal! Credit: fcbarcelona.com

Tencent (HKG:0700) has been very good at bringing celebrities on board its Internet services. But recently, the Chinese Internet giant seems laser-focused on sports celebrities. After recently landing Cristiano Ronaldo, we learned that it has decided to bring an entire Football club to its range of Internet products. That football team is none other than FC Barcelona, one of the largest and most successful teams in the world.

In the agreement, Tencent is tasked to develop a Chinese site for FC Barcelona. Tencent will also help FC Barcelona to create a digital presence on QQ, Qzone, Pengyou, and Tencent Weibo. Users can expect to see FC Barcelona branded mobile games and apps soon with this agreement. However, the content will be vetted through the football club before going live.

It is a win-win situation for both parties. FC Barcelona obviously wants to have more influence and reach in China. While Tencent can provide users with FC Barcelona-related content in Chinese.

This move could also help to reanimate many dead accounts who are fans and want to follow FC Barcelona news. And of course, it’s a “muhaha” moment for Tencent as it adds yet another big, recognizable brand to its range of products, especially Tencent Weibo. I believe FC Barcelona will not be allowed to have an account on Sina Weibo if there’s an exclusivity clause attached to the agreement.

Interestingly, Dídac Lee, the director of new technology at FC Barcelona explained that this is the first time Tencent has signed “an agreement with global reach.” Indeed it seems to have made Lee a very happy man. He added:

[Tencent’s] executives have told us how satisfied they are, not only because we are a great Club, but because we also share common values.

(I wonder what those common values are?)

I’m looking forward to seeing how Tencent executes their digital promotion of FC Barcelona in China through its digital channels.

Hat tip: +Robin Moroney