Several South Asian countries have experienced a boom in viewership of football events like Champions League matches in recent years. DW explores whether the German national league can capture part of the market.
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You win a crucial final and the fans will elevate you to the status of some kind of god; you perform badly against an archrival and they will burn you in effigy in the streets - so strong is the obsession with cricket in South Asia.
For a large majority of people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, their love for cricket is indeed irreplaceable, but in recent years, football seems to be carving out a niche of its own. Big international tournaments like the World Cup and European championship have always generated interest there, but lately, European club football is also making inroads in this relatively untapped market. Facing strong competition from the English Premier League (EPL), Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A, can Germany's top tier, the Bundesliga, find its feet in South Asia?
According to the league coefficient ranking compiled by the football's European governing body, UEFA, and based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons the Bundesliga is the continent's second-strongest league. The Bundesliga is also the top football league in the world in terms of average attendance and it is now broadcast on television in more than 200 countries.
Football fans in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have traditionally tended to follow English football, partly due to their colonial past, but the broadcast of Champions League matches has exposed them to a number of other star players and different styles of the game. As a consequence, within a few years, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich seem to have won over some hearts. Unfortunately, that is where it ends - for the time being at least.
Afghans watching football on television Image: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images
Bundesliga lacks penetration in the market
Kamran Wajih, the director of planning and strategy for Express Group, a leading media outlet in Pakistan, told DW that apart from these two, German teams lack name recognition in the region and therefore people do not watch their matches.
"The Bundesliga is very localized, they have not even tried to capture the global market. It seems, stadium-going audiences are more important in Germany than television viewership," Wajih said.
Asif Khan, the sports editor for a Pakistani satellite channel, News One, told DW, that "a few years ago a local TV channel telecast Bundesliga matches, but the venture was probably not viable and hence discontinued."
In neighboring India however, things look a bit different. In 2015, the country’s leading media conglomerate, Star India, teamed up with DFL Sports Enterprises, which markets the Bundesliga, to bring German matches to fans in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The license agreement covers five seasons, from 2015-16 to 2019-20. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Star India, was quoted as saying that the partnership was in line with the company’s strategy to promote football and the fact that Germany has bred some of the world’s best players and teams, has made the Bundesliga one of the most exciting leagues to watch.
German soccer coach Monika Staab (L) gives instructions to Pakistani female soccer players during a training session Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Measures required to boost Bundesliga viewership
Kamran Wajih believes that through better marketing and more recognizable players and teams, the Bundesliga can make it big in his country as well.
"The Spanish league is now trying to capture the Asian market, scheduling matches earlier so that football fans in the Far East can watch them at convenient times," Wajih noted.
Asif Khan believes that the Bundesliga would do well to do invest more in marketing its franchise in Pakistan.
"In the past couple of years, teams from Malaysia, Bangladesh and Palestine visited Pakistan for bilateral games," Khan said. "The DFL should also assist Pakistan in developing the sport at the grass-roots level which will eventually trickle down into more exposure for German football."
Rameez Javed, an avid football fan from Pakistan, linked promotional activities - such as German clubs visiting the regional states - to the success of Bundesliga there.
"Leisure Leagues in Pakistan are arranging trips of legends such as Brazil’s Ronaldinho to Pakistan to promote the sport. Such measures give much-needed exposure to the sport," Javed said.
Arunava Chaudhuri, a German-Indian football expert, pointed out the vast potential for growth of German Bundesliga in the region: "In India, football - not cricket - is the biggest participation sport these days." According to Chaudhuri, football is the most played sport in Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal as well. And despite their recent strides in international cricket, it is surely the biggest sport in Afghanistan.
The German-Indian football expert told DW that India is the like the US, where in the last twenty or so years, football has grown. It is the biggest participation sport in India and is widely played in schools and open spaces. Arunava Chaudhuri further added, "this is something that the Bundesliga needs to tap into to be able to grow in the region and simultaneously also help develop football in South Asia."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Empics/M. Egerton
Opportunity knocks
FIFA is in the process of expanding the World Cup, 48 teams will feature in 2026 rather than the 32 competing in recent years. With a significant increase in the participating teams, the sport aims to become even more global - and national leagues may be able to take advantage of this provided they adopt the right strategies. Local experts are of the opinion that Bundesliga has only just began to penetrate the South Asian market and in order to expand, it must invest in the development of basic infrastructure for the sport in target countries and also work on increasing distribution of club level German football. The combined population of South Asian countries is roughly 1.8 billion; with roughly 25% of the entire global population concentrated in such a small area, an opportunity surely exists.
A few of the Bundesliga's 50,000 goals
The 50,000th goal in the history of the Bundesliga was scored by Karim Bellarabi of Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. From Okocha to Hitzlsperger - here are some of the Bundesliga's most memorable goals.
Image: AP
A dance and a finish to make it five
In April 2009, Wolfsburg's Grafite scored one of the prettiest goals in the Bundesliga - or anywhere for that matter. The Brazilian beat two Bayern defenders as well as goalkeeper Michael Rensing before ending his incredible run by back-heeling the ball into the net to make it 5-1. It was a rare resounding defeat for the Munich side, and a step closer to the title for Wolfsburg.
Image: AP
No sign of injury
Corner to Bayern on the left. The ball comes in and Lothar Matthäus takes it first time. His incredible volley turned the game against Bayer Leverkusen on its head and put Bayern on the road to victory (4-2). Matthäus had just returned from a knee-ligament injury, but you would never have noticed. His goal was voted 1992 goal of the year in Germany.
August 1993 - three minutes to go in the game. Jay-Jay Okocha is in the box. The Nigerian feints one way, then another. He dummies a shot. Karlsruhe goalkeeper Oliver Kahn throws himself in front of the shot, but no shot comes. Okocha continues to dribble, deceiving two more defenders. Two tricks later, Kahn is beaten and Frankfurt's Okocha has a goal for the ages.
Image: picture-alliance/augenklick/GES/H. Prang
The longest shot
In September 2014, newly promoted Paderborn were up 1-0 against Hannover in injury time. Pushing for the equalizer, Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler was in the Paderborn area for a free kick, which was blocked and fell to Paderborn's Moritz Stoppelkamp just outside his own area. He cleared the ball some 82.3 meters (270 feet) - and into the Hannover goal. Paderborn 2 - Hannover 0.
In March 1996, Mario Basler's plan was to deliver a dangerous ball into the heart of Freiburg's defense from a corner. His delivery was so dangerous that then Freiburg goalkeeper, Jörg Schmadtke, had no chance. The ball hit the far post and rippled the net.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Hassenstein
Phantom goal
November 2013: Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling (above, left) was disappointed to see his shot hits the side netting. What he didn't yet realize was that the ball was in the Hoffenheim goal - having entered though a large hole in the net. The referee gave the goal, a decision that, according to the rule book, could not be reversed. The goal counted stood.
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Goooooooooooooool de Raul!
Do I go left, or right? Schalke's legendary striker Raul was spoilt for choice in August, 2011, because only Cologne's goalkeeper Michael Rensing stood in his way. The Spaniard chose option three and looped the ball over the top of the goalkeeper and into the goal. The chip, executed from a standing position, is just one of the reasons Schalke fans will always love Raul.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Baron
Hitz delivers a hammer on the way to the crown
For eight minutes on May 19, 2007, Schalke felt like champions. The Royal Blues were leading 2-0 against Arminia Bielefeld, and top-of-the-table Stuttgart were on the verge of a surprise defeat to Cottbus. Then Thomas Hitzlsperger delivered a cracking volley in and soon after, Sami Khedira sealed the win for Stuttgart - as well as the 2007 Bundesliga title.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Rudel
The law of physics defied
He ran, and ran, and ran. Jan Schlaudraff went past three opponents in 2006. At the end of his run, the Alemannia Aachen striker chipped Werder Bremen's goalkeeper, Tim Wiese, with a shot against the direction of his run. A month earlier, Schlaudraff had been called up by Germany head coach Joachim Löw.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/V. Rys
A dream goal, in the wrong net
In November 2014, Dortmund were completely in charge but just couldn't find the back of the net. Christoph Kramer got the ball in midfield and opted to play a back pass to his goalkeeper Yann Sommer on the edge of the box, but Kramer got it wrong and hit the pass over his keeper and into the back of the net. The goal proved to be the winner - for Borussia Dortmund.
Image: picture alliance/Sport Moments/Hufnagel
The little man makes the big headlines
It's easily forgotten today, but Werder Bremen were once one of the most entertaining teams in the Bundesliga. Quick, attacking and a heap of goals. One of the best was scored by midfield maestro Diego in October 2007 against Karslruhe. The little Brazilian chipped the ball from 30 meters out and it landed under the bar and in the net. He scored from 60 meters against Aachen later on.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Hands off!
According to the rulebook, you cannot score from a throw-in. This was no different in 1982, when Jean-Marie Pfaff made his debut at Bayern Munich - but he must have forgotten the rule. On a windy day in Bremen, Werder's Uwe Reinders directed his throw-in towards Pfaff's goal. Instead of letting it go harmlessly past, Pfaff reached for it - and deflected it into his own net. Bremen won 1-0.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Schilling
Off his head
April 1992: Energie Cottbus goalkeeper Tomislav Piplica fishes the ball out of his net. As if he had lost the ball in the sun, the Bosnian keeper had watched a high looping ball fall from the sky - until it hit him on the top of the head and dropped into the goal behind him - much to the delight of the visiting Mönchengladbach fans, as it tied the match 3-3.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Eisele
Goal number 50,000!
The honor belonged to Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi, whose season has been ravaged by injury. He opened the scoring at Augsburg and improving Leverkusen went on to win 3-1. It was a well-worked goal too but not quite as good as Grafite's strike. How long before someone scores the 100,000th goal?
