According to several sources, Zhang Dazhong, CEO of Ali Sports, has recently been appointed a board member of Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club.
This is the first time Alibaba has put a sports professional into the management of Evergrande, since its acquisition of a 50% stake in the club for US $192 million in June 2014. Analysts believe that Alibaba has begun to actively participate in the club’s daily operations, which will have a profound influence on Evergrande’s further development.
It seems that as the club’s second-largest stakeholder, Jack Ma, Alibaba’s CEO, only appears occasionally at Evergrande games. In the past year, Ali executives Zhang Yong and Zhang Hongping have shared a rotating Presidency at the club, though they seldom concern themselves with its day to day business.
Ali Sports was established last year by Alibaba, together with Sina Corporation and Yunfeng Capital, to transform China’s sports industry through Internet-enabled technologies. Zhang Dazhong, the former vice president of the Shanghai Media Group, served as Alibaba Sports Group’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Zhang has a wealth of experience with China’s new media and sports sectors and is dedicated to setting up an Internet-based, consumer-centric sports platform. This will target the creation of value for sports industry participants whilst also enhancing consumers and sports fans engagement with sports teams and brands. He was also a critical player in the operations of Shanghai Interactive Television, BesTV and other popular television stations under the umbrella of the Shanghai Media Group.
In January, Ali Sports announced its partnership with the world’s top football club Bayern Munich, which would see the two sides create a service platform that integrates sports star and major intellectual properties. Once the platform is introduced into the Evergrande system, sports fans will be able to purchase customized travel packages and franchised products.
As stated in news reports, the 2016 goal of Evergrande is to reach RMB 1 billion and make a profit. It is believed that with the help of Ali’s e-commerce resources, Evergrande is going to exploit its unlimited potential.
Proofread by John Devlin.