EPL club Chelsea has hired ECN Management to “market some of the club's high-profile players, including Fernando Torres and David Luiz, in China" as a way to boost the team's "global profile,” according to Dominic Fifield of the GUARDIAN. The U.K.-based sports marketing agency will be “charged with finding branding opportunities in China and other countries for 19 players whose image rights are owned by Chelsea.” The club recorded a loss of US$117M “in their last set of accounts for the financial year ending in 2009," but it is attempting to "increase revenue streams as part of an ongoing effort to reduce their reliance upon” Owner Roman Abramovich's financial backing. Chelsea is scheduled to “tour Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong in the summer as part of their pre-season programme ahead of the 2011-12 campaign” (GUARDIAN, 5/5). BLOOMBERG NEWS’ Tariq Panja noted Chelsea’s jersey sponsor is South Korea-based Samsung, and the club “sponsors the Asian Football Confederation, the governing body for soccer in the region.” But Panja wrote “breaking into China may not be easy,” as the NBA “attracts more viewers than” EPL games (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/4).
