Man City Extends China Presence
City Football Group (CFG) has opened a second office in China as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in the Chinese market.
CFG, which is minority-owned by a China Media Capital-led consortium, becomes the first international football organisation to launch a second hub in the country.
The new base in Shenzhen, home to the group’s commercial partner UBTECH, adds to the existing CFG office in Shanghai.
City became the first non-Chinese club to launch a mainland office in China, when it opened the base in March 2016.
It followed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tour of the City Football Academy in Manchester as part of his UK State Visit in 2015.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham joined CFG executives to launch the new project at One Shenzhen Bay at the end of a trade delegation visit to China earlier this month.
Burnham commented: “City Football Group’s work in Shenzhen demonstrates the football organisation’s commitment to China. I can’t help but be impressed by how football in the country is undergoing a revolution. The ambition of City Football Group matches that of the football authorities in China – it’s a perfect partnership.
“Greater Manchester is the capital of sport in England, and the birthplace of football. The English Football League was founded in Manchester in April 1888. Our professional teams – two in the top flight and another five in the leagues below – bring the city-region to a truly global audience. Together, our football clubs represent everything that’s great about Greater Manchester; community, competition, heritage and passion.”
Damian Willoughby, SVP of partnerships at City Football Group, added: “We are delighted to be opening our second City Football Group office in Shenzhen, to complement our team in Shanghai. Shenzhen is an important and growing city at the heart of the Greater Bay Area. Our presence in the region will play an important role in our continued growth as we engage our fans, expand our grassroots football programmes and work with our expanding portfolio of commercial partners.”
Manchester City now has 12 official supporters’ clubs in 12 cities across China, with a regular audience of 45m for City games.
The Club has entered into several commercial partnerships in China including with Shenzhen-based Robotics Partner, UBTECH and insurance giant, Ping An.
In 2016, City partnered with China’s Ministry of Education on its School Football Project, designed to support grassroots football development in the country.
In the past two years, over 40 coaches from UK have worked in primary and secondary schools across 15 Chinese cities/provinces, and directly delivered football coaching sessions.
Since 2017, the City Football Foundation has also supported two Unified Football projects in Beijing and Guangzhou and used football to create a safe and inclusive environment for children or all abilities.
The projects have worked directly with over 1,800 children, of which 80% are from special schools in the two cities. They have also reached over 3000 further people through tournaments and volunteer programmes, including teachers, families and other members of the Special Olympics family.
CFG is the majority owner of Premier League Champion Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC of the A-League and MLS Franchise New York City Football Club.
It is wholly owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), an investment and development company privately owned by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In December 2015, ADUG divested a 13% shareholding to a China Media Capital-led consortium.
CGF’s headquarters in Manchester are supported by offices in Abu Dhabi, Girona, London, New York, Melbourne, Montevideo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo in addition to the new hub in Shenzhen.
