The National Football League has signed an exclusive agreement with Export Now to establish an official online store in China.

Similar to its current US e-commerce store, NFLShop.com, the online store in China will sell apparel, equipment and accessories branded with the logos of the NFL and its 32 teams over an e-commerce platform on China’s Tmall.com.

The new online store will debut in September, giving Chinese football fans another way to celebrate the start of the 2013 NFL season and get closer to the NFL.

Export Now’s one-stop online platform helps US organisations tap the growing market demand for their products in China. It helps companies sell online in China by removing all the barriers to exporting – language, regulations, logistics, distribution – and operating a Chinese language e-commerce store to sell the products directly to Chinese consumers. It distributes products through stores on Chinese e-commerce sites Tmall.com and Taobao.com.

“Export Now offers the NFL the ability to accelerate our international development and expand our access to the Chinese consumer market,” said NFL China MD Richard Young, adding NFL products are becoming increasingly popular around the world.

Export Now founder and CEO Frank Lavin said his company’s e-commerce model will allow the NFL to establish a robust flow of footballs, jerseys and other products to Chinese consumers.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with one of the truly great sports organisations in the world,” Lavin said.

“We will create the NFL’s first online store catering to China’s vast market, where consumer demand for high-quality US products is increasing.”