Top 5 Asian countries with the most number of professional clubs

Saudi Arabia has left a deep impact as one of the Asian countries.

Asian Football keeps evolving with each passing year as the development programs put in by clubs from different nations of the continent are being done to get more and more fans into the domestic club competitions in Asia.

While the national leagues in Asian nations don’t get the same traction or viewership as the major European ones like the Premier League or La Liga – the clubs themselves are trying hard to bring a sense of professionalism to help bring reputation to their national leagues.

Some countries are working hard to establish a fully functional national league system that spreads over multiple divisions, like the structure of major European football leagues. A study from FIFA recently delved into which countries are blessed with the most professional clubs in Asia. Here we look at that.

5. Indonesia

Indonesia surprised many by achieving their first-ever Round of 16 qualification in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and a major reason for that could be their budding national league system. Indonesia currently has 46 professional clubs and a three-league structure, with the Liga 1 (top division) being followed by the second and third divisions.

Some of the major Indonesian clubs include current Liga 1 leaders Bomeo Samarinda, Persib, and Bali United. The top division has a five-plus one foreigner system in place, but the local Indonesian players are getting the majority of the exposure in the Indonesian leagues and allowing the quality of the national team to improve.

4. China PR

China has a nice structure when it comes to its national league system, having five divisions starting from the Chinese Super League to the Zheijiang division (fifth division). Despite that, China only has 48 professional football clubs – which is still the fourth-highest among all the Asian countries.

Their top division boasts some well-known clubs like Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Taishan, and eight-time champions Guanzhou Evergrande – who now plays in the second division. Despite such a varied club competition system, China had an underwhelming 2023 Asian Cup and were eliminated from the knockout rounds.

3. Japan

Japan is currently the highest-ranked Asian team in the FIFA World Rankings, but they are just third in terms of having professional football clubs among Asian countries. There are currently 60 professional Japanese clubs, even though there are six football divisions in their current structure.

This involves the J1 League (top division), J2 League, J3 League, the Japan Football League, All-Japan (universities league), and Regional Leagues. The likes of Kashima Antlers, Vissel Kobe, Gamba Osaka, and Kawasaki Frontale make up the major teams.

2. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has taken the entire world of football by storm with the crazy amount of investment being made by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund over the last few years. The Saudi Pro League is arguably the most lucrative and popular football league in Asia, boasting world-class players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, and many more.

The Saudi Sports Ministry has significantly ramped up the structure of its football scene, with 108 professional clubs currently operating in the country with five football divisions. The likes of Al Nassr, Al Hilal, and Al Ittihad are renowned across the world now.

1. Thailand

The country with the most professional football clubs in Asia is Thailand, which boasts 110 professional clubs. The Thai football system is made up of the Thai League 1, Thai League 2, and Thai League 3 along with the Thai Semi-Pro League and Thai Amateur League.

The likes of Buriram United and Muangthong United are the giants of Thai Club Football, but Thailand Football’s professionalism seems to be greatly benefitting their development. The Thailand national team had an impressive showing at the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year, making the Round of 16, and 90% of the squad included players from their first division.

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