30 November 2016 – The Inaugural LeSports Connects: The China Sports Forum finished on Wednesday evening bringing an end to two days of discussion and insight on the future of the Chinese sports industry. Staged at Mission Hills Dongguan, the invitation-only event saw over 500 guests from 18 countries enjoy 22 conference sessions involving some 60 different speakers.
WHAT THEY SAID
Former Manchester United and Chelsea FC CEO, Peter Kenyon: “First of all, China has a plan and a clear objective which puts them ahead of a lot of people who are entering the sport. They are addressing the education – football is now part of the curriculum – and China has clearly demonstrated through the Olympics that it can host major sporting events, so I’m pretty sure that between now and 2050, the World Cup will come to China. So China has the three pillars that you need, and the question now, is how you fill in the rest that gets them from where they are today to the winning a World Cup in 2050.”
Beatrice Lee, CEO of Baofeng Sports International: “The capability and reach of social media in China enables sporting events to connect with over 1.3 billion people and is revolutionizing the way in which people engage with and experience sport, and how rights-holders and promoters are commercializing their assets. I find that quite exciting.”
International footballer turned publisher, Rio Ferdinand: “The Chinese Super League is taking players in their prime now – that’s a big difference. These players that are capable of playing Premier League football and Champions League football. These are people who can leave a legacy in the same way that Zola, Lampard, Bergkamp and Cantona did in the EPL and have a huge effect on the next generation of players. They are coming for the right reasons, to play football and to improve.”
Ma Guoli, Vice Chairman, LeSports: “The key to developing sport in China is time, and if you look at what the likes of the NBA has achieved in China, it didn’t take place over night. The industry needs to invest in the long term growth of sports in China and if we take soccer as an example, the focus needs to be on juniors, equipment, the coaching and the development of Chinese players for the future.”
Jamie Reigle, Commercial Director and Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Manchester United: “We talk about the underlying demand. Manchester United has 600 million followers around the world, we know where the TV audience is and we also have social media, so we have three points of data to tell us where the biggest pull is coming from and where the growth is. On all three of those metrics, the absolute numbers for China are big and the growth is very significant.”
Xavier Asensi, Managing Director APAC at Barcelona FC: “We always look long term, we think global but we try to act very local and a key partner was always crucial to do that. We have been talking to many people but, in Mission Hills, we have found what was missing to establish the Barcelona FC brand in China. We’re so looking forward to the partnership which will be of interest not just to Chinese football fans but the world of sports in general. It’s going to be state of the art.”
Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of venue partner Mission Hills Group: “We have a vision to bring China to the world and the world to China. With our ‘golf and more’ strategy for growth, we recently opened our football training headquarters at our resort in Haikou and in 2017 will be bringing the China Football Association, teams from the Chinese Super League, and top teams from Europe to come and train and play on the tropical island of Hainan and help grow football in China. We recently teamed up with Boris Becker to bring the world’s first Boris Becker Tennis Academy to Mission Hills in Shenzhen and in 2017 we will be launching the Becker Cup and take tennis to six cities around China. It’s a very exciting time for our business.”
Jasper Donat, CEO of event organizer Branded: “We have been privileged to listen to and learn from some of the most highly regarded personalities in the sports industry over the last two days, who have shared their perspective on the future of the Chinese sports industry. LeSports Connects: The China Sports Forum’s debut has been a great success as both a business conference and networking event and we look forward to coming back to China next year.”
LeSports Connects: The China Sports Forum ran from Monday 28 November to Wednesday 30 November at Mission Hills Dongguan, China. Follow the latest news and updates at: www.lesportsconnects.com