BANGKOK (Thailand) - China, the Philippines, Iran, Korea, Japan, and Australia have all took turns winning the FIBA Asia Cup over at the course of the competition’s history. Now as the Qualifiers for the 2021 edition are getting close, let’s check out which national team federations are leading the way on social media!

China and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) displayed their widespread love for basketball throughout the FIBA Basketball World Cup this past summer and it is reflected in their social media following on Weibo with a whopping number of over 360,000 followers. No other nation in the Qualifiers has that big of a following on social media, even when combining the count on Facebook. Twitter, and Instagram.

However, that doesn’t mean that the other countries are behind in their social media game.

The Japan Basketball Association (JBA) and Basketball Australia (BA) accounts have among the biggest followings in the business, properly so as they have some of the biggest names of the game in this region playing for them. Japan and Australia are the only two countries among Qualifier teams to rank in the top 3 of followers for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Japan tops all with over 181,300 followers on Twitter (@JAPANBasketball) and over 75,400 followers on Instagram (@japan_basketball). They are also 3rd in the amount of Facebook followers (日本バスケットボール協会 (jba)) with over 66,000 in total. With the likes of Rui Hachimura, Yuta Watanabe, and Yudai Baba all getting exposure and opportunities to succeed in the United States of America, it’s no surprise that the JBA is currently one of the most followed teams in the region.

Korea has been in many exciting contests over the years against both Japan and China, which has helped grow their following across all platforms whether it is Instagram (@basketball_korea) or Facebook (대한민국농구협회) where they have a combined number of nearly 20,000 followers. They are neck and neck along with Chinese Taipei who has just over 20,000 followers combined on both Instagram (@ctbaofficial) and Facebook (中華民國籃球協會 - CTBA).

Asia Cup 2017 champions Australia is also a heavy draw with the number of stars all across their talent pool. This has resulted in the second-most amount of Facebook followers (Basketball Australia) at over 107,000, third-most on both Instagram (nearly 65,000 on @basketballaus) and Twitter (nearly 39,000 on @basketballAUS). It should also be considered that the Boomers also have a dedicated Australian Boomers IG accounts (@australianboomers) for the men’s national team that has just over 24,000 followers as well.

Among the other teams close to Australia, New Zealand has the majority of their following on Facebook (Basketball New Zealand) with over 25,000 followers, while the fans of Guam are crowded on Instagram (@gubasketball) with over 5,500 followers.

Southeast Asia can also flex a bit with their social media game, heading into the crucial stretch of the Qualifiers. The Philippines have the third most followers combined across platforms, anchored by their over 178,000 strong followings on Facebook (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas - SBP) which is the most among Qualifier teams.

Not far behind is Indonesia who is ranked at 5th in combined followers and boasts a strong Instagram (@perbasi.ina) following with nearly 63,000, less than only Japan and Australia. Meanwhile,

Malaysia is in a tough Group B and will need all the cheers they can get. They can hope to see that from their 64,000 followers on Facebook (Malaysia Basketball Association) which is good for 4th most among Qualifier teams. Thailand is also on the rise on Facebook with over 33,000 followers on its account (Basketball Sports Association of Thailand).

The Philippines and Indonesia of Group A will also be facing each other in this first window on 23 February in Jakarta, which means their hoard of fans on social media will be ready at the tip of their thumbs with loving support.

Another clash among social media giants during the Qualifiers will also be on the same day when Iran hosts Qatar in Tehran. Iran has a top 5 amount of Instagram followers (@iribf) with nearly 36,000, and though Qatar is quite a bit far away on that platform, the Gulf powerhouse is doing well on Twitter (@qatarbf) where they have a second-most amount of followers with over 67,000.

These two titans of Group E will be facing off Syria, who have over 23,000 followers on Facebook (Syrian Basketball Federation - الاتحاد العربي السوري لكرة السلة), and Saudi Arabia, who have 1,000 followers on Twitter (@sbfksa).

India is the powerhouse of Group D, in terms of social media followings, inching close to 100,000 followers combined across all three platforms. With over 40,000 followers on both Instagram (@india_basketball) and Facebook (Basketball Federation of India), there will be a lot of interest in their games in the Qualifiers, especially in the second window when they face Lebanon.

The basketball-crazed country of Lebanon has over 45,000 followers on Facebook (Lebanese Basketball Federation) and just over 28,000 more in Instagram (@flb_official). Both India and Lebanon will be facing Iraq, who has a following of nearly 24,000 on Facebook (الاتحاد العراقي لكرة السلة Iraqi Basketball Association) and Bahrain who are around 26,500 strong on Instagram (@bah_basketball).

Rising nations of Group F in Palestine (Palestinian Basketball Federation / الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة السلة) and Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka Basketball Federation) are building up a following of over 5,000 followers on Facebook each and they will be getting even more attention as they go up against Jordan and Kazakhstan in the Qualifier games again.

Jordan is close to 28,000 followers on Facebook (Jordan Basketball Federation - JBF), among the biggest followings on the platform in the West Asia sub-zone. Kazakhstan's supporters, on the other hand, are alternatively camped out on Instagram (@nbfkz) for a good number of over 21,000 followers.

FIBA