VOLLEYBALL IN ASIA

“The future of Volleyball is in Asia”, said Volleyball World CEO, Finn Taylor according to ASN’s just-released Volleyball Asia Market Analysis 2023. 

While over 50% of volleyball’s global fan base is in Asia, only four countries – Thailand, India, Japan and China – dominate the sport’s sponsorship income, accounting for 95.8% of the US$ 24.2 million total. Coming in at fifth place, South Korea achieved just over US$ 1.0 million, representing just 5.5% of the total.

In 2022, Thailand – leading the field with US$ 7.3 million (31% of the market compared to just 9% in 2019) – achieved 76% growth over pre-COVID-19 pandemic sales, while the other members of the ‘big four’ all posted slower recovery, ending up between -11% to -69% below 2019 sales.

Despite the prominence of volleyball in Asia, its value is relatively small compared to the giants of Asian sport sponsorship, which is dominated by football with sponsorship sales of US$ 1.5 billion – 35% of the all-Asia, all-sports total. In 2022, volleyball ranked 13th, behind athletics, badminton and table tennis, while football, cricket, motorsports and basketball led the field.

Nevertheless, the Women’s Volleyball Nations League – which comes to Thailand, Japan, China, and South Korea in June this year – is expected to have a substantial impact on volleyball’s sponsorship profile. Indeed, it is the success of the Thai women’s national volleyball team that has catapulted Thailand into the top spot. The Volleyball Nations League (VNL) organisers, who have backed up their conviction by investing in a strategic alliance with the Asian Volleyball Confederation, are convinced of the huge potential for growth in this region.

Currently, financial services is the biggest volleyball sponsorship category in Asia by a long way, accounting for 32.3% of the total, owing to major investment by both RuPay, the Indian multinational financial services and payment system (US$ 5.5m) and the China Pacific Insurance Company (US$ 1.1m). Interestingly, RuPay’s title sponsorship of the Volleyball Federation of India’s ‘Prime Volleyball League’ (Formerly India Pro Volleyball League), was the only volleyball sponsorship deal in India in 2022, while the sport sponsorship numbers in China were distorted by the Beijing Winter Olympics, which attracted US$ 305 million, just beating football, the traditional No. 1 platform.

Unsurprisingly, RuPay is the dominant volleyball sponsor brand in Asia, at 22.6% of all sponsorship in 2022. Est Cola, Mikasa (sports equipment) and China Pacific Insurance Company (CPIC), together with RuPay make up the ‘Big Four’, responsible for almost 39% of all Asian volleyball sponsorship. 

While No. 2 Est Cola (US$ 1.8 million, 7.5% of the total) has been title sponsor of the Thai Volleyball League since 2018, the top 25 brands include several newcomers – including Euro Cake, Piyavate Hospital, Firmus (Feihe), Fila, Star Sports, CEstbon and Chuo-Nittochi – who have entered the market since 2019, suggesting the predictions of mounting interest in volleyball as a sponsorship vehicle across Asia are justified.

In 2022 the ‘Top 10’ brands were:

As a sponsorship platform, volleyball is still in its infancy compared to the giants such as football, cricket, motorsports and basketball – but the potential for growth, demonstrated by 2022 sponsoring brands, is promising – especially with the coming Volleyball Nations League (VNL). It’s worth noting also that the women’s game is particularly strong in Asia, which sits well with the inherent values of volleyball around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender equality and so on.

In this context, it is well worth noting that growth seems to be coming from the non-traditional (for volleyball) categories especially apparel, beverages, sports equipment and FMCG as opposed to financial sector.