Mailman Group analyzes the popularity of US Major League Soccer (MLS) on Chinese social media with some surprising results.

1. CHINA SOCIAL MEDIA POPULARITY REPORT
major league soccer

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most popular
club: la galaxy
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No official Chinese social
media account
288,000 mentions on
Sina Weibo

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most popular
player: thierry henry
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No official Chinese social
media account
417,000 mentions on
Sina Weibo (in 60 days)
14

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500,000
total club mentions
Toronto FC:
15,000 mentions
Seattle Sounders FC:
22,000 mentions
LA Galaxy:
288,000 mentions
New York Red Bulls:
150,000 mentions
New York City FC:
25,000 mentions
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Clint Dempsey:
212,000 mentions
2
Thierry Henry:
417,000 mentions
14
1,301,000
total player mentions
Robbie Keane:
93,000 mentions
7
David Villa:
416,000 mentions
9
Frank Lampard:
256,000 mentions
8
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(last 60 days)

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david beckham followers
Large influence on
Chinese netizens
1 official Chinese social
media account
4,930,000
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Villa - Tencent Weibo
1,460,000 followers
Toronto FC - Sina Weibo
10,000 followers
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Lampard - Sina Weibo
240,000 followers
established chinese fan base
1,710,000 total
followers

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presence during world cup
559,000 team usa
mentions
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25,000 Weibo users chose
USA as their preferred team
during the World Cup
Most popular player:
Dempsey
2

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what the fans say
“Since the first season in 1996, there have
been many good players, but when Beckham
joined, exposure reached unprecedented
heights. Now the Beckham effect is leading to
more world class players in the MLS.”
“Next season the newly added teams
New York City FC and Orlando City SC will
participate in the MLS, I feel that next year
will be exciting, there should be a lot of
people watching it.”
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questions?
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get in touch
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