Juventus FC’s Asia Strategy: Inside the Club’s Regional Expansion with Managing Director Stephanie Chen.

Roger Hampel

Stephanie Chen, Managing Director APAC & Head of HK Branch | Image: Juventus FC

From summer tours to global sponsorships, Asia has become one of the most dynamic arenas for European football clubs seeking both fans and partners. But few have approached it with the consistency and depth of Juventus FC.

The Italian club opened its Asia-Pacific office in Hong Kong in 2019 as part of a long-term plan to strengthen its footprint in the region. Six years later, it serves as a strategic hub for partnerships, cultural engagement, and youth outreach across Asia.

For Football Business Journal, Stephanie Chen, Managing Director APAC & Head of HK Branch, shared how the club’s presence in the region has evolved, what “localization” really means in football, and where Juventus sees its next chapter of growth.

Juventus Hong Kong Branch | Image: Juventus FC

Strategy & Presence in Asia

Roger Hampel (Football Business Journal): Juventus was one of the first European clubs to open a physical office in Asia. How significant is the Asian market in the club’s current revenue structure, and how does the Hong Kong office contribute to its commercial growth?

Stephanie Chen (Juventus FC): Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in Juventus’ global ecosystem — both in fan base and commercial potential. According to Nielsen Sports, nearly half of Juventus’ global fans (49%) are based in Asia, making the region strategic to our long-term plan.

In 2019, we established our Asia Branch in Hong Kong China as a fully functional regional hub covering commercial development, partnership activation, marketing, PR, brand building, and institutional relations. Hong Kong’s location allows us to efficiently connect with China, North East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, while our local team provides deep market insights and delivers tailored activations for fans and partners across the region. The Hong Kong office, which is profitable, contributes actively to the increase of Club’s sponsorship revenues.

Today, Juventus is proudly having leading Asian partners such as Cygames (Japan), Ganten Water (China), Nexen Tire (South Korea), and Daka (China), alongside global partners like Adidas, Jeep, and EA Sports, who also leverage our local presence to activate in this dynamic market.

Rather than simply “exporting” the Juventus brand, our approach in Asia begins with understanding and investing, believing that meaningful returns will follow naturally. We see our role as creating value both ways: while Juventus brings global visibility and credibility to our Asian partners, we also generate localized value here in Asia, their home market. By fully leveraging the presence of our Hong Kong office, we act as a true bridge, ensuring each partnership’s vision is authentically integrated into the Juventus ecosystem. At same time, locally, we co-create meaningful experiences, build sustainable relationships, and develop in-market assets that drive mutual growth for both the Club and our partners in Asia.

Sponsorship & Partnership

Roger Hampel: In recent years, Juventus has developed a unique ecosystem of partnerships in Asia, blending sport, technology, finance, gaming, and lifestyle. Which brands currently shape this ecosystem, and which projects or campaigns stood out as particularly impactful in this and the last season?

Stephanie Chen: Juventus’ partnership ecosystem in Asia reflects our evolution from a football club into a global lifestyle and cultural brand, where sport intersects with technology, fashion, gaming, and premium consumer goods.

A defining example is our long-term collaboration with Ganten (百岁山), which has evolved from sponsorship into a strategic co-creation model integrating fan engagement, lifestyle marketing, and global storytelling. The recent activation of “Ganten Dream Programme” perfectly embodies this approach, a nationwide fan campaign culminating in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Turin. Selected fans, including representatives from China’s Official Fan Clubs and key football influencers, met club legend Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini (current Juventus Football Strategy Director), and Men First Team players, creating authentic connections beyond the pitch.

 Image: Juventus FC

In this campaign, Juventus operates not merely as the IP holder, but as a strategic partner, leading the entire process from campaign ideation and creative development to full execution. This “agency-style” approach allows Ganten to benefit from Juventus’ brand expertise while receiving an end-to-end activation service that maximizes impact. At the same time, we leverage Ganten’s extensive domestic resources, including its powerful distribution network and media reach, to bring Juventus closer to new audiences beyond traditional football fans, connecting with millions of everyday consumers across China.This project also exemplifies how we turn our brand values into unforgettable experiences for fans while seamlessly integrating KOLs and creators into the storytelling. Their participation helped amplify the campaign’s cultural relevance, generate organic conversations, and expand reach across diverse digital communities.

The result was a genuine win-win-win: value for our partner, expanded visibility for the club, and deeper loyalty and emotional engagement from fans towards both Juventus and Ganten.

Alongside Ganten, Juventus continues to collaborate with partners such as Adidas, EA Sports, and Daka, expanding our ecosystem across gaming, fashion, and lifestyle, reflecting the dynamic energy and creativity of modern Asia.

Marketing, Identity & Fan Engagement

Roger Hampel: How does Juventus build a “local identity for a global brand” in Asia? How do you balance the club’s Italian DNA with Asian cultural influences and lifestyle trends?

Stephanie Chen: For Juventus, being global means being deeply local and that’s how we become not just a team to support, but a lifestyle icon to embrace. Our brand positioning, We Are Youth. Since 1897, embodies style, innovation, and the spirit of youth, values that naturally resonate with Asian audiences. But we go beyond simply translating a message: we bring it to life through culturally relevant experiences and emotionally engaging narratives. By blending our Italian DNA with local trends in fashion, art, and digital culture, we create authentic connections that inspire new generations and set Juventus apart as a pioneer in shaping the future of football culture.

Asia’s football market is rapidly evolving and diversifying. Fans today not only care about pitch results alone and more about emotional connection, lifestyle resonance, and authentic engagement with the club. Juventus embraces this shift by combining online and offline experiences that bring our brand to life.

For example, in China, the Juventus Youth Carnival held in Shanghai this March took place at the iconic Xintiandi(新天地), a location that blends modern trends with the city’s cultural heritage. Over three days, the event attracted more than 210,000 visitors, drew 26 media outlets with 200+ PR coverages, and engaged 79 KOLs, generating over 4.1 million hashtag reach and 5 million local impressions.

Brand Activation in Shanghai, March 2025 | Image: Juventus FC

The event went beyond football, incorporating fashion and art in culturally inspired formats that engaged young fans and encouraged content creation. It was a great success, demonstrating the growing passion for Juventus and football culture among young audiences in China.

In Japan, we collaborated with a local shodo artist, who created a striking calligraphy piece depicting a zebra with the word “Juventus”, a design so impactful that one of European supporters even got it tattooed. In Southeast Asia, we also partnered with Vietnam’s national rapper, blending multiple season jerseys with local pop culture, which generated strong engagement across social and digital channels. These initiatives resonated deeply with Asian fans and, importantly, achieved global reach, drawing positive attention on Juventus’ worldwide social media platforms.

Social Media & Creator Lab

Roger Hampel: What are the most effective digital channels for reaching fans in Asia, and what role does the Creator Lab play in shaping content tailored for the Asian audience?

Stephanie Chen: Digital engagement is at the heart of Juventus’ fan strategy in Asia. In China, we reach millions daily across Weibo, Douyin, WeChat, Rednote, and Bilibili. Today, Juventus stands as the most followed Serie A club across key Chinese social platforms. Over the past five seasons, we have achieved a 63.5% follower growth. Beyond China, we produce localized content on geo-targeted channels of global platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, serving key markets including Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Vietnam. During 24/25 season, our localized and bespoke content on TikTok across Southeast Asia has generated over 400,000 followers in just one year of soft development, further strengthening our regional presence.

For five consecutive years, we have produced culturally resonant Chinese New Year videos, leveraging deep local insights to engage fans cultural emotionally so much, so that Juventus has earned the nickname “Juventus Pictures” in China for our localized storytelling.

Since the launch of the Juventus Creator Lab in Turin last year, our content capabilities have grown even stronger. The Asia team works closely with the Lab on all stages of production, from creative brainstorming to shooting execution, ensuring the Juventus voice is both authentic and culturally relevant for Asia. The Juventus Creator Lab supports innovative formats, from short-form videos to premium long-form content. Asia office also facilitates collaborations with local creators and influencers, bringing them to Turin to co-produce content.

Beyond storytelling, the Juventus Creator Lab provides commercial value for our Asian partners, enabling high-quality production in Italy without the need for partners to send teams abroad, creating an efficient, scalable solution that combines creativity and business impact.

Academy & Youth Development

Roger Hampel: The Juventus Academy network is now global, and Asia has become one of its most important regions. In how many countries across Asia does Juventus currently operate academies, and how are they contributing to the club’s long-term vision?

Stephanie Chen: The Juventus Academy network is one of our strongest commitments to the future of football. We operate 10 academies in Asia across China, Japan, Australia, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan. We also run camps in different countries such as Sri Lanka. In July, we launched a new academy in Hong Kong, China, supported by our local office, marking a strategic step to engage the community and expand fan activations.

Juventus' Hong Kong Academy Launch in July 2025. Image: Juventus

Our academies are much more than training centers; they serve as cultural bridges, bringing Juventus’ methodology, values, and philosophy to local communities. Promoting discipline, teamwork, and joy, our aim is to grow people before players while inspiring the next generation of fans across the region. At the same time, we are exploring partnerships with local clubs and government bodies to support grassroots football, helping to grow this sport sustainably in Asia through Juventus’ expertise and initiatives.

Future Plans

Roger Hampel: What are Juventus’ key priorities in Asia for the coming years – further expansion, new partnerships, academy development, or perhaps a return to the region with a pre-season tour?

Stephanie Chen: Over the past five years, Juventus has successfully consolidated its commercial operations and expanded a meaningful brand presence in Asia. Our regional office is financially sustainable, providing a strong foundation for the next phase of development.

Since the 2024–25 season, we have been implementing a new Asia strategy, focused on growing revenue and brand expansion through the unique approach we developed during the first stage of our Asia plan. Now we have been equipped with deep local knowledge, we are exploring new strategic markets like Japan while continuing to strengthen our presence in key regions including China and Southeast Asia.

Image: Juventus FC

We will continue to expand our partnership ecosystem, collaborating with brands that share our values of creativity and innovation. Value co-creation remains central, using local meaningful assets to enhance return to partners, while engaging with fans. At the same time, we will invest further in digital engagement and community building, offering richer, more authentic Juventus experiences but also in a local relevant way. We also aim to increase meaningful community impact through academy, innovation, and educational programs.

We remain committed to delivering meaningful local experiences for our fans and partners. Beyond our ongoing digital initiatives, we continue to organize offline activations and fan events every football season, often featuring visits from Juventus legends to deepen our community connection. And we are already planning something big for 2026, a project that will further strengthen our footprint and engagement in Asia. Please stay tuned.

Ultimately, our ambition is to build a sustainable Juventus ecosystem in Asia, one that delivers value for our local fans, partners, and the broader football community through shared passion, creativity, and the spirit of youth that defines Juventus.