BEIJING, Feb. 21 -- Manchester City owner City Football Group (CFG) announced a landmark investment in Chinese football with the purchase of a third-tier Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu at a press conference on Wednesday in Chengdu.
CFG completed the investment along with AI & robotics company UBTECH and China Sports Capital, adding Jiuniu as its seventh football club investment.
The Chengdu-based Sichuan Jiuniu plays its home games at the 27,000-capacity Chengdu Longquanyi Football Stadium and will kick off its new season in March. The club was formed by the 2017 Sichuan National Games Under-20 team.
Jiuniu was the first third-tier side in history to reach quarterfinal stage in the Chinese Football Association Cup 2018.
City Football Group (CFG), established in 2013, is the owner of a number of football-related businesses around the world, including football clubs, academies, technical support and marketing companies. CFG's clubs include Premier League Champions Manchester City FC and New York City FC in Major League Soccer.
CFG's presence in China includes offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen, several commercial partnerships, community projects and football education as part of a Chinese Ministry of Education program.
Ferran Soriano, CFG CEO, said the purchase signaled its strong confidence in the future of football in China, and a natural extension of its existing activities.
"China is an extremely important football market," Ferran Soriano added, "We are making a long-term, sustainable commitment to grow and develop Sichuan Jiuniu FC and to nurture Chinese footballing talent. These objectives are equally important."
CFG will work with other shareholders to focus on strengthening Jiuniu's performance, forging a strong relationship with fans and building a strong presence in the community.
"We believe AI technology will promote the development of the football industry to a new level and we will focus on developing Jiuniu to be a century-old club," said Zhou Jian, CEO of UBTECH, which has been a commercial partner of Manchester City since 2016.
China Sports Capital is jointly founded by China Media Capital (CMC) Consortium and Sequoia China. CMC became a minority shareholder of City Football Group in December 2017.
China has boasted a booming football market since the issue of a reform plan in 2017. China's top league the Chinese Super League (CSL) hosts a plethora of football stars from Europe and South America.
美情侣装修厨房发现“宝藏”:现金、陈年威士忌和寻宝游戏
红迪网掀发帖"求侮辱"新风潮,围观群众争当"留几手"
谁说特朗普不可能当选美国总统
2015上海高考英语暑假作业
唱过那么多次生日歌 你付过版税吗
遭家暴可申请“人身保护令”
巴基斯坦10年内可能成为第三核武大国
研究:男性同事多不利职场女性健康
欧洲“移民危机”愈演愈烈
美联储高官淡化9月加息预期
高中三年级英语暑假作业自主复习题
纽约中国城的一家酒吧莫名当红
俄文版维基百科被禁一天后即获解禁
韩国不再褒奖工作狂
2015高三英语暑假作业测试卷
经典卡通人物不为人知的十大真相(下)
英国仍是外储投资安全港
新课标2015年高二英语暑假作业(6)
牛津英语一年级第二学期暑假作业试题
9月9日苹果发布会 :“嘿Siri,给我们点提示吧”
各国阅兵游行服装秀:光怪陆离的世界
这样一顿饭 你愿意付多少钱
中国放缓危及安倍经济学
俄罗斯能够摆脱普京铁腕
小学一年级英语第二学期暑假作业卷安排
马哈蒂尔呼吁人民把马来西亚总理赶下台
机器人取代人类仍是科幻
2015年山西太原外国语学校英语暑假作业
2015高考试题——英语暑假作业(江苏卷)解析版
天津市河西区2015年普通高中英语暑假作业
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |