(Yicai Global) June 15 -- No other single country is home to more sponsors of the ongoing 2020 UEFA European Football Championship than China as soccer frenzy takes hold of the Asian nation while its firms are looking to boost their international branding via the delayed games.

White goods manufacturer Hisense, online payments platform Alipay, handset maker Vivo Communication Technology, and short-video platform TikTok are four names in the list of top 12 sponsors, according to the website of the administrative body for soccer clubs in Europe.

Some of the foreign firms in the top 12 are Coca-Cola, Heineken, Qatar Airways, Booking.Com, and FedEx.

"Brand marketing via sports events in the long term is very helpful for Chinese brands that intend to go global," Chief Executive Lao Bo at media platform Adquan.Com said to Yicai Global.

Chinese white goods and mobile phone makers have become increasingly important globally over the past decade, said Lao. Collaborations with tournaments like the Euros and the Copa America raise the brands' credibility, which increases their market share, Lao added.

Ant Group's mobile wallet Alipay opened the first third-party ticketing and information channel in China for the Union of European Football Associations during the ongoing tournament that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ByteDance Technology's TikTok has become the first entertainment platform of its kind to support the continental series of competitions held every four years.

Qingdao-based Hisense knows how powerful soccer fame can be as it sponsored the previous event in 2016. The electronics manufacturer has lately been seeking to increase its influence in Europe by building three flagship stores in Italy and placing ads on 2,300 buses in the UK.

Overseas business makes up more than 40 percent of Hisense's revenue, said Jia Shaoqian, president. But the share should rise to exceed 80 percent this year, partly driven by soccer marketing, he added.

Vivo is looking ahead as the phonemaker is already planning to sponsor the UEFA Euro 2024. The Guangdong province-based company intends to cover more than 12 European countries with its products by December.

Editor: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi