SEOUL, South Korea — The English Premier League has long dominated the popularity of international football in Southeast Asia. It’s newest rival for regional audiences comes not from the major leagues of Spain or Italy, but from Japan.
The J-League, established in 1993 and generally regarded as Asia’s best domestic competition, does not have the history or the prestige of the big European leagues. But while English clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool often play a friendly in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur every couple of years, the J-League insists it is committed to developing football in Southeast Asia for the long-term and at a number of levels.
Over the past two years, the J-League has signed separate partnership agreements with leagues in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Burma which involve the exchange of expertise on and off the field.
Japanese clubs have established relationships with teams in the region, and from 2012 Thailand, Vietnam and Burma started broadcasting J-League games with more countries expected to follow suit.
“We fully understand how popular the English Premier League is in Southeast Asia,” Daisuke Nakanishi, J-League director of competitions and sales management, told The Associated Press. “That’s why we think that there is no way of winning if we apply the same approach in the market, and we believe that we should do something different.”
Nakanishi says Japan’s league has two advantages over the European leagues.
“We are in Asia, so we are close to the region geographically and mentally, and Japan is the only country which used to be very weak but has grown rapidly in very short period,” he said. “So we can be a role model. We are more than happy to share our know how with Southeast Asia in order to develop together.”
The size and global reach of the top English clubs mean that any partnerships they form in Southeast Asia are unequal. In the past, local clubs have sometimes been reduced to becoming little more than merchandise sellers for the big teams.
On the pitch it can be a similar story. In 2007, three of Thailand’s top players famously joined Manchester City, then owned by the country’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, yet none made it close to a Premier League appearance and soon departed. The J-League is good but not to the extent that it is a closed door for Southeast Asian talent.
“In the near future, we hope that there will be many star Southeast Asian players playing in the J-League, which makes the J-League more visible and popular in the region,” Nakanishi said. “This is a unique approach which the English Premier League does not have.”
Worawi Makudi, president of the Thailand Football Association, agrees that Japan has much to offer as a role model to follow for developing nations in Asia as it has come a long way in a short time.
“At the moment in the [Southeast Asian] region the English Premier League is popular and is tough to beat, but maybe the Japanese league in terms of broadcasting rights can grow,” Worawi said. “If Japanese clubs have Thai players then people in Thailand would like to watch them.”
There are plans to make it easier for the best Thai stars to head east. Much could depend on the success of Le Cong Vinh, who has been one of the biggest stars in Vietnam and the region for a number of years.
The striker had a short but unsuccessful spell with Portuguese club Leixoes in 2009 and last month joined Consadole Sapporo, which was last season relegated to Japan’s second tier. Ngo Le Bang, general secretary of the Vietnamese Football Federation has high hopes for the player.
“Le Cong Vinh is one of our best players,” Bang said. “Firstly his appearance in Japan, even in the second division, could promote the image of Vietnamese football, and then after him there could be other opportunities.”
Bang says the experience the country’s players could receive in Japan will benefit the Vietnamese national team and professional league.
“The reputation of the J-League is improving partly due to the increasing number of players from Japan heading to the top leagues of Europe. Their football players have made huge progress in domestic and international competitions. … Japan shows how a team can compete equally against physically stronger teams.”
The Vietnamese striker does not see himself as a figurehead for the new relationship between Southeast Asia and Japan. He just wants to play.
“I think the J-League is the best league in Asia and I believe that I can learn a lot of things here,” Le said said. “That’s why I decided to come here. … I am ready to show my strengths to the fans.”
It won’t be just fans in Vietnam who will be watching with interest to see if Le is able to do so.
