NANJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's grassroots football phenomenon, the Su Super League, has attracted a major wave of commercial support ahead of its new season, with sponsors ranging from Adidas to Heineken and Coca-Cola.
The new season will kick off in April and will be backed by 24 commercial partners, including 15 new sponsors, league officials said Tuesday at a launch event in Nanjing.
Title sponsorship has expanded from a single backer, Bank of Jiangsu, to a joint naming partnership with Bank of Jiangsu and international trade conglomerate Soho Holding Group. Other sponsors span sectors including apparel, liquor, electric vehicles, beverages and smart technology.
Liu Tong, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau, said the league will undergo a comprehensive upgrade in 2026.
"We will raise standards, improve services and implement more concrete measures to elevate the league in every aspect, from event organization to participant experience," Liu said.
Liu added that Soho Holding Group will use its overseas business network to help bring the league's brand to a broader international stage.
The league also announced a program to support small and micro businesses by opening a number of official sponsorship slots to Jiangsu-based smaller firms. Through an open application and qualification review process, 32 companies will be selected to receive branding and marketing rights alongside major official sponsors, organizers said.
Adidas was reportedly to have secured sponsorship rights in a deal valued at 21 million yuan (about 3 million U.S. dollars), including equipment sponsorship worth 1 million yuan for each participating team. Market estimates have put total sponsorship revenue for the new season above 210 million yuan, though organizers have not officially confirmed the figure.
The league, which features teams from 13 cities across Jiangsu, became a national sensation in 2025. Across 85 matches, total attendance exceeded 2.43 million, with an average crowd of 28,000, setting a record for amateur football in China. The final alone drew more than 62,000 spectators.
Online engagement also surged, with more than 2.2 billion livestream views and related social media topics generating more than 100 billion views, according to statistics in the report.
The league's success has also fueled a broader grassroots football boom nationwide, with more than 10 provincial-level amateur leagues emerging. China's first cross-regional amateur football league, the Northeast Super League, featuring cities from Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is also set to launch in May. ■
