FIFA woes offer chance to further lofty goal
Print Edition
WANG Jianlin, China’s richest man, said FIFA’s corruption scandal was an opportunity for big Chinese companies to further the country’s lofty footballing ambitions by undertaking sponsorship deals with the global governing body.
Wang’s Dalian Wanda Group, China’s biggest commercial property developer and an active buyer of global entertainment and sports companies, became the first Chinese top-level sponsor of FIFA last week.
At a news conference in Beijing yesterday, the 61-year-old multi-billionaire said he expected other companies to follow suit to help drive China’s ambition to become a soccer superpower.
“Two or three years ago, Chinese and Asian companies probably wouldn’t even have had a chance to sponsor FIFA even if we wanted to. But because some Western companies dropped out, we got the opportunity,” he said.
“To my knowledge, another Chinese company will become a FIFA top sponsor soon. If there are no surprises, there will be three Chinese top-level sponsors by the end of the year.
“If more Chinese brother companies become FIFA sponsors like Wanda, we will join forces to advance the interests of China soccer,” he added.
Led by Chinese President Xi Jinping, an avid soccer fan, China has embraced the goal of shedding decades of corruption and underperformance to become a major power in the game, aiming first to host the World Cup and then win it.
China aims to grow its sports market to 5 trillion yuan (US$772 billion) by 2025, a fivefold leap from its current size, and soccer will play a large part.
China’s ambitions were highlighted in a high-profile investment, its biggest in the sport overseas, last December when a consortium led by state-backed China Media Capital took a US$400 million stake in the owner of Manchester City.
FIFA’s new President Gianni Infantino first announced the 15-year sponsorship deal with Dalian Wanda in Zurich on Friday. A source close to the deal said the sponsorship from Wanda would be worth “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“We are lending them a hand during their toughest period,” Wang said after yesterday’s press conference.
FIFA has been thrown into turmoil over the last year with criminal investigations under way into the sport in the US, where several dozen former soccer officials have been indicted, and Switzerland.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
