Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo Nazario, together with Carlos “Wizard” Martins, president of the Ronaldo Soccer Academy, yesterday signed a co-operation agreement with Alibaba Sports at a ceremony in Shanghai. Early in September, Ronaldo announced that he would open 30 soccer schools in China. 

After a two-hour meeting, the two sides reached an agreement to co-operate on different levels. Alibaba Sports becomes the exclusive long-term partner of the Ronaldo Soccer Academy in China with the aim of improving the training of Chinese teenage footballers and marketing Ronaldo’s educational philosophy. In addition, as the exclusive partner, Alibaba Sports will develop mobile applications on sports tourism and training for the academy.

As Ronaldo put it, they will build the base of a Chinese soccer pyramid and help China improve its standing in the world of soccer by making the best use of Alibaba’s platforms. Before leaving, the Brazilian soccer star invited Zhang Dazhong, Alibaba Sports’ CEO, to play in a beach soccer match in Rio de Janeiro next year. 

Source: Xinhua News

Proofread by John Devlin.