Global football publisher Goal.com has extended its reach in China after signing a partnership with Sina Sports, one of China’s leading digital sports media platforms.

According to the publisher, they already produce content in 19 different languages and in 39 different countries. This deal will leverage some of that as Goal.com articles – produced by the publisher’s already-existing team of Chinese-language editors – will appear on the Sina Sports website.

Building on their partnership with Chinese search engine Baidu, the deal with Sina Sports will also help the football publisher grow its presence on social media site Weibo, further growing its roots in the country across multiple platforms.

Over the course of the World Cup in the summer, Goal’s Weibo account gained over 85m interactions and as of this month it already counts more than one million subscribers.

The deal between the publisher and the media platform is said to have benefits for the growth of football in China, too, with Goal commiting to coverage of the Chinese Super League as well as becoming a media partner for Sina’s grassroots futsal competition,5×5 Golden League – featuring 32,000 players across 26 cities in the country.

James Peel, EVP Media APAC at DAZN Group, formerly Perform Group, said, “The expansion of our relationship with Sina coincides with the growth of football in China. With 70 percent of Chinese football fans now following more than one European team and 76 major European clubs having an active digital presence in China, Goal’s growing domestic profile is ideally placed to engage with these fans.”

Peel said: “Our new agreement with Sina strengthens our strategy of delivering our content to China’s largest digital platforms. This cross-platform approach will offer brands and advertisers the ideal environment to engage with Chinese Football fans.”