The 13th edition of the Red Card 2024: Asia Digital Performance Index looks back at key moments, including Messi and the Argentinian men’s national football team playing in Beijing and generating never-seen-before fandom, how influential lifestyle platform RED engaged with a new demographic of sports fans, the rise in women’s football viewership thanks to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Douyin’s continued growth in terms of popularity and fan engagement.

In its 12th year of publication, the Red Card: China Digital Performance Index analyses how the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar made a notable impact on the rankings, with Argentina star player Lionel Messi returning to the number one spot after four years behind Cristiano Ronaldo, whilst PSG benefited from Messi and Kylian Mbappe’s successful tournaments. The English Premier League maintained its dominance as the most popular league online, claiming a fifth title in a row.

In its 11th year of publication, the Red Card: China Digital Performance Index analyses another year of teams and players unable to visit China due to closed borders and tight COVID-19 protocols, meaning digital was once again the key medium in which to reach, engage, and monetise fans in China. The Premier League, FC Barcelona, and Cristiano Ronaldo were the big winners. 

Now in its 10th year of publication, this year's report reveals the Red Card winners from a record growth and engagement year in China. There were also six digital awards, as well as featuring awards presented by Weibo and Douyin. 

The Premier League retained their title as number one league, Barcelona overtook rivals Real Madrid, and Cristiano Ronaldo kept his place as number one player. This year's report also included 12 digital awards, featuring awards presented by Weibo and Douyin. 

The Premier League became winners for the first time, with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo also number one. This year's report also focused on new platforms including Douyin and WeChat Mini Programs. 

The year's report included the launch of the Red Card Awards, where FC Bayern, Arsenal, Bundesliga and Borussia Dortmund were winners. Meanwhile Lionel Messi took the title as number one player online.

This year coincided with China's football revolution as a record number of clubs joined online, with live streaming becoming the major trend. Bundesliga won for the second consecutive year, with Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo also announced as number one. 

10 European football teams arranged their summer tours in China, with their digital activation a major focus in this year's report. FC Bayern were announced as the number one team online.

Real Madrid narrowly beat rival FC Barcelona to the number one team online, as the report observed the importance of developing key local channels including Tmall and club websites. 

The 2014 report identified WeChat as the fastest growing platform to connect with Chinese fans. There was growth in European clubs online with Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo competing for fans' attention, as FC Bayern were announced as the winner. 

Total Chinese online followers surpassed 10 million for the first time ever, as FC Barcelona were this year's winner. Platforms analysed included Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo and Ren Ren. 

The first ever Red Card report provided an in depth analysis into European clubs' ability to communicate with the Chinese fan base online. Manchester United were announced as the winner with Barcelona and AC Milan.