Chinese real estate conglomerate Wanda announced today (July 13th) that it will host an annual "China Cup" tournament, to raise the profile of the Chinese national football teams.

The first event, as part of the partnership between Wanda and the Chinese Football Association, will kick off in Nanning, Guangxi Province on January 9th next year, running to the 16th. It will reportedly feature four top-tier national teams, including 3 teams from Europe and the Americas. In the future, it is expected that this event will be expanded into an 8-team format.

FIFA, football’s world governing body, has officially recognized the proposed China Cup. This means the results of the event would count toward FIFA rankings.

As an earlier Yutang report said, Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Dalian Wanda, is planning to use this new tournament to rival the European Champions League.

Wang said that he is a lifelong football fanatic and he hopes that the Chinese national team, currently 81st in the FIFA world rankings, would play in the World Cup one day.

Source: Wanda

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin