Northeast Super League: Football’s Regional Impact | Beiguo.com

Our reporter Zhu Caiwei

It has been less than four months since the first Northeastern City Football League (“Northeast Super League”) kicked off on May 23, and all preparatory work has been accelerated. From the positive response of the investment market to the overall linkage of the four provinces and regions; from the in-depth integration of cultural, sports and tourism businesses to the meticulous planning of event operations – this football event jointly created by the three northeastern provinces and one region, with football as the fulcrum, is continuing to release a strong “leverage effect” and using sports as a bridge, injecting new vitality into the revitalization of Northeast China.

The remarkable results of the investment promotion work directly reflect the commercial potential of the “Northeast Super League”. As the leading unit in the development of the event market, the Provincial Cultural, Sports and Tourism Group has formed a special team to go to the 8 home cities. It has completed site inspections and investment planning, set an investment goal of more than 100 million yuan, and promoted it in three stages. So far, more than 100 companies have been connected in the first phase, and 19 sponsoring companies have been identified, with the intended amount exceeding 50 million yuan. National brands such as Geely Automobile and China Resources Snow participated together with local companies.

“The intention to sign contracts has exceeded 50 million yuan! This has laid a solid foundation for the successful completion of the first phase of investment promotion!” The words of Tan Youzhen, deputy general manager of the Provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Group, confirm the strong appeal of the “Northeast Super League” as a regional sports IP. The scientific system of five-level event sponsorship and two-level competition area sponsorship not only meets the needs of different enterprises, but also fully releases the commercial potential of the event, making it an important engine for activating the Northeast consumer market.

Global linkage is the key for the “Northeast Super League” to promote regional coordinated development. The event breaks administrative boundaries and is jointly hosted by the sports bureaus of the four provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia. The cities where the eight teams are located cover mountains, seas and grasslands. On May 23, the capital cities of the four provinces will hold opening ceremonies simultaneously, creating a new paradigm for regional competitions. The “Northeast Super League” is not a “single fight” in Liaoning, but a joint effort in the Northeast region.

The relevant person in charge of the Liaoning Provincial Sports Bureau pointed out: “The core of hosting the Northeast Super League is to establish mechanisms, strengthen linkage, and build consensus. The ultimate goal is to use sports as a medium to stimulate the economy and bring together people.” The home and away game system not only drives fans to watch games across cities, but also connects the mountains, forests, oceans, industrial sites and other resources across the Northeast into a line, becoming a sports link to promote regional coordinated development.

Sharing by all is an important manifestation of the “Northeast Super” taking root at the grassroots level and uniting people’s hearts. The competition stage focuses on non-professional local players. Strict participation status restrictions not only ensure the purity of the competition, but also stimulate the enthusiasm of the masses to participate. At present, Tongliao, Yanbian and other competition areas have completed team formation and started training. Harbin and other competition areas have selected players through open selection. The expectations of fans everywhere are rising.

Liaoning has taken the “Northeast Super League” as an opportunity to fully activate the football development chain. Liaoning currently has two Chinese Super League teams. In last year’s Chinese Super League, Chinese League One and Women’s Super League, the Liaoning team’s home attendance rate ranked first, creating a linkage between game viewing and consumption. Based on this, Liaoning is promoting the upgrading of football events to regional economic and cultural IP, simultaneously improving the four-level youth training system, strengthening the professional football market, and further polishing its business card as the “cradle of football talents”.

The integration of culture, sports, tourism and businessmen will continue to extend the driving effect of the “Northeast Super League”. The event is aimed at the golden season of cultural tourism in Northeast China. The eight competition regions are actively planning travel routes, launching game viewing packages for fans, and striving to create an integrated experience of “game viewing + sightseeing + consumption”, making football a new engine to drive consumer traffic.

Editor: Yang Jinfeng
Reviewer: Liu Ligang