New Brand Finance data reveals China’s leading football clubs are strengthening their brands through city identity, supporter loyalty and matchday experiences
BEIJING, 1 September 2026 – China’s football clubs are entering a new phase of brand growth, with leading Chinese Super League (CSL) teams strengthening their appeal through supporter loyalty, civic identity and increasingly compelling matchday experiences, according to the Football 50 2026 report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.
Chinese football is entering a new brand cycle, with rising attendances reflecting renewed interest in the domestic game. The challenge, now, for clubs will be to convert this matchday momentum into lasting brand value through deeper supporter engagement and stronger connections with their local communities.
China’s strongest football club brand this year is Beijing Guoan, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 62.5/100. The club has strengthened its position as the country’s leading club brand, with its BSI rising from 56.3/100 in 2025. Beijing Guoan continues to build on its distinctive green-city identity through the professional-grade experience at Workers’ Stadium, strengthening the connection between the club, its supporters and the city.
In second place is Shanghai Shenhua, with a BSI score of 62.3/100, underlining the strength of its established fan base and strong sporting performance. The club finished runners-up in the 2025 Chinese Super League, while its new Shenhua Experience Centre brings the club’s history and culture to life through interactive exhibits, memorabilia and fan experiences. Its growing “Blue Economic Circle” also highlights the club’s potential to turn fan engagement into broader commercial value.
Rounding off the top three is Zhejiang Professional, posting a BSI score of 57.8/100, reflecting growing momentum on and off the pitch. Its three-star AFC youth development centre accreditation, the highest level in the Asian confederation’s system, further strengthens its credentials as a club investing in long-term development and local talent.
Scott Chen, Managing Director, Brand Finance China, commented:
“Chinese football is increasingly becoming a story about identity and connection, not simply results. The strongest club brands are those that give supporters a reason to belong, whether through heritage, city identity or the experience of being at the stadium. As crowds return, clubs have a valuable opportunity to turn this renewed enthusiasm into lasting brand relationships that extend well beyond matchday.”
Meanwhile, Chengdu Rongcheng (ranks eighth with a BSI score of 54.2/100) shows how sporting momentum can translate into broader brand equity. In 2026, the club became the CSL’s mid-season leader for the first time, while its “Blazing Red” home culture has forged a strong connection with Bashu’s urban identity. Around 6,000 supporters travelled to Shanghai for a May Day away match against Shanghai Shenhua, the largest visiting contingent in the stadium’s history. This passion extends beyond matchdays, driving activity across dining, transport, retail, content, tourism, and commercial partnerships. The club’s deep civic identity is becoming a powerful, hard-to-replicate competitive advantage.
Other notable CSL clubs in the rankings this year are:
With 10 of the 16 CSL clubs using purpose-built football stadiums in the 2026 season, stadiums are increasingly evolving beyond match venues into urban consumption hubs combining sport, social interaction, retail, culture and tourism. For clubs, the challenge will be to convert this renewed matchday momentum into sustainable brand value through stronger fan services, community engagement, youth development and diversified revenue streams.
Global Insights
Real Madrid retains its position as the world’s most valuable football club brand, with brand value rising 25% to EUR2.4 billion, while FC Barcelona remains in second place with brand value up 15% to EUR2 billion.
The combined brand value of the world’s 50 most valuable football club brands has reached EUR23.9 billion, marking the strongest annual growth in the 15-year history of the Football 50 ranking.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
