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Some of the Biggest Football Leagues in Asia
Football is a sport that is popular worldwide. With over 3 billion fans globally, it is the uncontested, biggest sport in the world. It is the most watched sport on all continents, with the sole exception of North America (where the sport’s popularity is growing, however is still overshadowed by ice hockey and American football).
In Asia, football gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the British brought it over to China, India, and the rest of their then-colonies. Today, the sport is the most watched, played, and practiced sport on the Asian continent.
In this article, we are going to look at a few of Asia’s biggest football leagues, and talk a bit about them.
The AFC Champions League
The AFC, or the Asian Football Confederation, is the governing body of football in a certain number of Asian. The AFC covers 47 countries, and national teams, and it is one of the biggest sports organizations in the country. The AFC Champions League is the most popular football league organized by the Asian Football Confederation, and it draws in a huge amount of fans and punters annually. For example, Novibet, sees an increase in bets placed from the Asian continent during the AFC Champions League event.
The Persian Gulf Super League
Another one of the most popular football leagues in Asia is the Persian Gulf Super League. Formerly known as the Iran Pro League, and it is the highest division of Iranian football. Founded 21 years ago, in 2001, the Persian Gulf Super League (henceforth PGSL) sees 16 teams compete for the title of Iran’s champion. In the past 19 years, Persepolis has stood apart from the competition, and is the most successful club in the league right now, with seven titles.
The China Super League
It isn’t a big surprise to learn that the Chinese Super League is one of the most important and popular football leagues in Asia. After all, the Chinese have been playing a variant of football for more than 5000 years. In fact, the Chinese Super League is one of the biggest leagues in the world, behind the EPL, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
Eighteen of China’s best teams compete for the title of China’s football champion. As of now, the champion team is Shandong Taishan, however, the best performing team in the league, with 8 titles is the Guangzhou team.
UAE Pro League
The United Arab Emirates Pro League is another of Asia’s most popular, and often times, most highly rated pro-football league. Apart from the AFC Champions League, the UAE Pro League is the oldest one featured on this list, dating back to 1973. Fourteen of the United Arab Emirates’ top tier clubs compete in the league, with Al Ain being, by far, the most successful. They’ve won 13 titles so far. In 2022, Al-Jazira are the champions of the league, having won their 3rd title in the 2020/21 season.