March 12 – The 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, played in Jan-Feb this year, generated nearly eight billion digital impressions across all of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s digital channels.
The 7.9 billion figure obliterates the previous record of 890 million impressions that was set during the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates by almost nine times.
The record was achieved via a digital strategy by the AFC, developed to serve the different regions across the Continent by offering its content in 13 different languages across 12 platforms for the first time in Asian Cup history.
It is one of the many milestones established during Qatar’s Asian Cup campaign, which witnessed over one million link clicks generated from a total of 15,384 posts across Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Telegram, Threads, YouTube, Weibo, Douyin, Donqiudi and Toutiao.
The tournament met its conclusion on February 10, which saw hosts Qatar beat the Jordanian underdogs 3-0 to lift the Asian Cup trophy for the second successive competition.
AFC General Secretary, Datuk Seri Windsor John, said: “Asian football fans are undoubtedly amongst the most vibrant and passionate anywhere in the world, and this landmark achievement only serves to reinforce that reputation.
“Our fans are the heartbeat of the game and as part of the AFC’s Vision to reaffirm football as the Continent’s number one sport, we are resolute in our commitment to constantly enhance the ways in which to serve and engage them, and nowhere is that more evident than in the various innovative offerings on our digital channels and platforms, in particular during the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023.
“We must thank the passionate followers of Asian football for helping us to make the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 the best ever flagship men’s competition, which also set new records for spectatorship and TV viewership, and look forward to further galvanising the fanbase as we look to another spectacular celebration in 2027.”
The duration of the tournament saw 3.5 billion digital conversations, with the AFC’s YouTube channel reaching 1.53 billion impressions and the AFC Asian Cup Instagram platform garnering an impressive 1.26 billion impressions and 431 million video views.
The official Asian Cup Facebook platform followed closely with 602 million impressions.
Chinese platforms Weibo and Douyin received a combined total of 364 million impressions edging ahead of the AFC’s amplification collaborations (336 million impressions) and the confederation’s X platform (247 million impressions).
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1735209355labto1735209355ofdlr1735209355owedi1735209355sni@g1735209355niwe.1735209355yrrah1735209355
