CVL shoots for the stars
China’s revamped women’s volleyball league is on a mission to boost its profile as the competition attempts to harness the adoration enjoyed by the national side.
The sport has long held a special place in the nation’s hearts thanks to the Chinese women’s team’s all-conquering performances in the 1980s, with last year’s gold medal finish at the Rio Olympics reawakening that passion.
However, the game’s domestic competition and grassroots development still lag far behind the exposure afforded to the national team, while the Chinese Volleyball League’s revenues and coverage are miniscule in comparison to its domestic soccer and basketball counterparts.
The figures speak for themselves — last season’s CVL averaged 156,000 online viewers per game; in stark contrast, 930 million people logged on to qq.com to watch China’s gold-winning final against Serbia in Rio.
To raise the sport’s domestic profile, the National Volleyball Administrative Center has joined hands with Beijingbased sports marketing agency iRENA to operate and promote the 2017-18 CVL season, which spikes off on Oct 28.
Both the men’s and women’s competitions have expanded from 12 to 14 clubs, while the league is also keeping the door open for others to get on board.
“We welcome all sorts of clubs — government-backed or privately owned — to get involved so the league can develop in scale and length to become bigger and better,” said Li Quanqiang, director of the administrative center.
Meanwhile, the addition of several new sponsors will see teams benefit to the tune of over 1 million yuan ($152,000) each.
“As the most victorious bigball sport in our country, volleyball’s development deserves equal exposure and market recognition as soccer and basketball. We just need to present the competition in a market-oriented way,” said Gao Hong, CEO of iRENA.
To improve officiating and the match spectacle in general, all stadiums have been installed with the eagle-eye system, which visually tracks the ball on Jumbotrons.
The league’s All-Star game and end-of-season awards ceremony have also been renewed.
Many observers believe, though, that the sport is not maximizing the pulling power of national stars such as Zhu Ting, Hui Ruoqi and Zhang Changning.
“The relatively low-profile league platform has taken a toll on the limelight that the national players accumulate every cycle of international events,” said Hong Gang, a volleyball commentator with CCTV.
“More fan-engaging activities off court and grassroots exchanges should be organized to boost their exposure.”
At last month’s final of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Grand Champions Cup in Nagoya and Tokyo, where China beat host Japan 3-1 to lift the trophy, the multitude of Zhu posters and placards in the crowd underlined the popularity of the sport’s highestpaid female player.
Zhu, who shot to fame at the Rio Games, in June signed a one-year contract extension with Turkish club Vakifbank worth around $1.35 million.
China’s iconic national coach Lang Ping, who won all the game’s major prizes during the 1980s, expects the new league to produce more stars like Zhu.
“Hopefully, the league, as the highest-level competition, can be developed into a platform for more fans to recognize more young players and for our athletes to promote themselves,” Lang said at the recent awards ceremony for the 2016-17 season.
One player forging a path to superstardom is Zhu’s younger teammate Zhang, who has become a huge hit on social media and even graced the cover of the Chinese version of FMH magazine in March.
Zhang, who turns 22 next month, said: “I won’t consider it (celebrity) a distraction. I would love to take it as a positive way to draw more attention to the game.”