Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week:
Bundesliga Clubs Sign MOU to Develop Grassroots Football in China FC Schalke 04, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach have shown commitment to developing football in the Jiangsu region as part of the 30-year cooperation between the clubs and Jiangsu Province. Read more on Dongqiudi (Chinese)
Mailman Take: This is another move which highlights the unique approach of Bundesliga clubs working alongside each other on a strategic basis in comparison to clubs from other leagues. All 3 clubs are intensifying their grassroots commitment and have their own dedicated programs in mainland China. This also represents another agreement at governmental level between Germany and China after the federation agreement a couple of years ago.
PSG x LGD Paris Saint-Germain has expanded its partnership with LGD Gaming as they look to further tap into the Chinese esports market. The two organisations partnered up earlier this year to co-brand a Dota 2 team and ended up as runners-up in this year’s edition of The International. Read more on The Esports Observer (English) and Lanxiong Sports (Chinese)
Scisky and CBA Team Up Chinese home décor company Scisky have partnered with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league for the next two seasons. Yao Ming has been the ambassador of Scisky since 2015, while Scisky has sponsored his previous NBA team, the Houston Rockets, since 2017. Read more on Sohu (Chinese)
Shenzhen Leopards Take Flight with Shenzhen Airlines Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) side Shenzhen Leopards have signed a partnership with Shenzhen Airlines, making the latter the Strategic Airline Partner of the club. Shenzhen Leopards organized the partnership launch event ahead of the new 2018-2019 CBA season. Read more on SZnews (Chinese)
Nike Signs Zihao Chinese esports player Jian ‘Uzi’ Zihao appeared in the Nike “Dribble &” campaign with NBA star LeBron James and Chinese actor Bai Jingting. Zihao, 21, is widely regarded as one of the best League of Legends players in the world, and recently won a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Read more on Nike’s Official Weibo (Chinese) and SportsPro (English)
CFA Recruit Foreign Coaches The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has initiated the project “100 Foreign Coaches” to develop grassroots football in China, which will see the CFA recruit 100 foreign football coaches and send them to grassroots football training centers across the country. Read more on Xinhua (Chinese) and Inside World Football (English) Speakers Announced for Sports Connects Sports Connects is a 2-day, top line summit presented in English and Mandarin, featuring an exchange of ideas and an opportunity to share the challenge of how to harness China’s ubiquitous sports fan and to bring China and international markets together. Read more on Branded (English & Chinese) 361° Sign On Tan Weiwei Chinese sportswear brand 361° has signed up Chinese singer Tan Weiwei as an ambassador for its new women’s product line. The announcement ceremony and product launch ceremony were held Chengdu, Sichuan. Read more on Jiemian (Chinese)
In Other News:
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge the Gap
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, a huge complex culminating in years of planning and construction, opened to the general public this week. Read more on the SCMP (English) and Sina (Chinese)
Mamba’s Memoirs NBA legend Kobe Bryant has released his new book, titled ‘The Mamba Mentality: How I Play’ which has been translated into Chinese and is now available to purchase in the Mainland. Read more on Ecosports (Chinese)
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