Buckingham Palace has revealed that President Xi will pay a visit to City Football Group’s headquarters in Manchester during his tight-scheduled State Visit to the United Kingdom, which lasts from 20th to the 23rd October. 

There are two top Premier League football clubs in Manchester, including Manchester United and Manchester City. It is expected that the visit will further enhance the football cooperation between China and the United Kingdom.

The City Football Group is an Anglo-Arab holding company established to oversee the creation and administration of a network of linked clubs and other footballing operations under the aegis of Manchester City. Apart from Manchester City Football Club, City Football Group has claimed ownership of New York City FC, Australian-based sister club Melbourne City Football Club and Yokohama Marinos. The Group also claimed its interest in acqure a Chinese Super League club in September, according to a South Korea news website. 

CSL and Premier League have reached an agreement to cooperate on different aspects in football field as early as 2013. Under the deal, Premier League would provide help to the Chinese Football Association and CSL on league management, business system, club operation, stadium management, fan service and TV broadcasting etc. 

Just ahead of the visit, UK-China Football Development Forum was held in London on September 18 with an aim to improve Chinese football through communication between the two countries, which was attended by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and other representatives from Chinese football field including Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Group and Wang Jianlin, a real estate tycoon.

Source: Hexun & Royal Central