Here are the top sports business news stories you need to know in this week:
Vivo Becomes Official Smartphone Sponsor of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo was announced as an official sponsor of the next two editions of football’s FIFA World Cup. They will also sponsor the FIFA Confederations Cup. The deal is worth around €60m-€70m per year, totalling €400m over the 6 years.
Read more on FIFA.com (English)
LeSports Secures B+ Series Funding
LeSports announced B+ funding that values the company at 24 billion yuan. The company did not disclose the amount of capital raised. One fund was from the Ningbo Ecological Park, the area in which LeSports will initiate their sports town project and soon plans to move their headquarters to. Read more on EcoSports (Chinese)
Messi to Build Football Theme Park in China
Barcelona’s Argentinian superstar began his China tour on 31st May. Messi announced plans to build the biggest soccer theme park in China by 2019. The facility will also be home to his personal training program. The “Messi Experience Park” will have more than 20 attractions spread out over a site covering more than 80,000 square meters in Nanjing. Before arriving China, Messi launched his official Weibo account, attracting 30,000 followers within 40 minutes. During this China tour, Messi will also fulfil sponsorship duties with Huawei. Read more on China.org (English)
Chinese Table Tennis Association Suspends Head Coach Due To Gambling Debt
Kong Linghui, a former Olympic table tennis gold medalist, and current national team head coach, is being sued by Marina Bay Sands for failing to repay a sum of S$1 million (HK$5.63 million) he borrowed from the hotel’s casino in February 2015. Read more on SportsMoney (Chinese)
Adidas Originals Signs Chinese Pop Star As New Brand Ambassador
Adidas signed Chinese pop star, Lu Han, as their brand ambassador for the Greater China area. Lu Han is well known in China as a solo artist and actor. He has 32.8 million followers on Weibo. Read more on SportsMoney (Chinese)
Former LeSports CMO Appointed as New CEO of Torea
Chinese outdoor product company Toread appointed Qiang Wei, former LeSports CMO, as their new CEO. Former Toread CEO and chairman Sheng Faqiang will remain with the company as chairman. Read more on EcoSports (Chinese)
IndyCar Series to Come to China
The American-based auto racing IndyCar Series was first brought to China by Mingtai Sports. Mingtai will have the rights to distribute broadcasting, promote the event and be responsible for other local operations in China. Tencent Sports, Guangdong Sports TV and Handong Sports will broadcast the series from 2017. Read more on Lanxiong (Chinese)
BVB Announces New Beer Partner in China
German beer brand, Würenbacher, signed a deal with BVB to become the regional partner in China from 2017. Read more on SportsMoney (Chinese)
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