Ibrox Noise will have full coverage of the signing of Daisuke Yokota in due course, but there is one definite positive about signing the RW from Hannover, it comes off the pitch. Rangers have failed miserably to exploit the Asian market for a very, very long time.
Yokota brings Japanese interest
We are not saying that Yokota is a superstar in his homeland of Japan. He does not, of course, have any caps for his country at any level. His social media presence isn’t massive.
However, he will be a known figure over there. People will follow him and his career, as they did in Germany’s second division.
The Japanese have a massive fan culture. They have a huge following for almost every sports and entertainment star that the country produces. Of course, Japan has rather a lot of them.
A simple example would be the recent massive growth of the World Rally Championship in Japan. That has happened simply because they have one driver.
Takamoto Katsuta has competed in the WRC for some time. Thanks to his arrival as the first Japanese driver in the sport, Japan suddenly has a huge interest in the championship.
Japan has a massive fan culture
This applies to so many areas of Japanese culture. Whenever sports stars break through or become successful, support for that individual grows significantly. And more tellingly, the investment into that sport or club or organisation does likewise.
Therefore, we have no doubt that Yokota will attract a great following in Japan. That could then open the Asian market significantly for Rangers.
We do not know how big this lad is in his homeland. However, bringing in a Japanese player represents a wise commercial move.
The commercial market in Japan is colossal. It has approaching 200M people with plenty of money to spend.
As we say, the Japanese have a significantly strong fan culture and spend heavily on merchandise. This means Rangers can break into the Japanese market in the same way Celtic have.
Nobody can deny that Celtic have absolutely destroyed the Asian market at their end. They have made a huge killing in both Korea and Japan.
That followed the sheer plethora of players they brought in from Ange’s days over there.
Rangers have taken their time
Rangers have taken their sweet time to do something similar and bring in a player of that nature.
We are unsure at this point whether Yokota will actually prove good enough for Rangers. However, from a commercial point of view, it is a huge signing.
We will see whether he can shine in the shirt. However, the potential Rangers exposure in Japan and the rest of Asia matters greatly.
Ibrox Noise has been absolutely lobbying for this move for decades. Indeed, since the community’s earliest days, we have discussed Rangers’ inability and refusal to enter the Asian market.
This is the first step towards doing that. Admittedly, Yokota might not be the best player on planet Earth.
We will find out in due course how good he proves to be for Rangers.
Yokota could open new revenue streams
At the same time, this represents a very sharp and prudent commercial move. It may open revenue streams Rangers could never have dreamed about before.
As we say, we only have to look across the city. Their Asian expansion significantly boosted their coffers.
Japanese, Korean and other Asian fans now follow their club because of the players they have brought over.
Yokota is Rangers’ first foray into that market. Hopefully, if nothing else, it proves very, very successful indeed from a commercial perspective.