International sportswear brand Adidas have become the new title sponsors of the China University Football Association League (CUFA League), covering the rest of the current CUFA League season and for the next five years. The signing ceremony was held yesterday June 20 at the Beijing Institute of Technology where Alisports, the operations company of CUFA signed with Adidas. 

This partnership is the first major sponsorship that CUFA has received since Alisports launched the new National Youth Campus Football League, merging the schools and university football leagues into one system in January this year. Previously Alisports became the operational partner for campus sports events of the Federation of University Sports of China and the China School Sports Federation in November 2017. 

It is expected that the partnership would be helpful in the development of the CUFA which is the premier 11 a-side national university football league in China, the only such league recognized by the FUSC. 

The President of FUSC, XUE Yanqing remarked that “with the support from Adidas and Alisports, the future of Chinese campus sports would be better and better.”

It is also an important step for Adidas in their support of grassroots football development in China. 

In 2015, Adidas formed a three-year collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Education with the aim of accelerating Chinese campus football development. In July 2017, as a partner of the German Football Association along with China’s Ministry of Education, Adidas organized a training camp in Berlin for Chinese young players. They have supported the Ministry of Education in giving coaching to over 17,000 sports teachers, supported around 3,000 student for summer/winter camps and donated more than 180,000 footballs to over 3,000 schools. 

WANG Ruohai, Government Relations Vice President, Adidas Greater China, commented that: “Adidas has always been a key driver in Chinese football development. In recent years, Adidas has continued to increase investment in the development of Chinese grassroots football, matching the brand’s sports genes and long history, committed to the promise of supporting public sports development. This historic partnership reflects well our core belief-- we can change life through sports.” 

During the ceremony, the Adidas global ambassador David Beckham was present and gave some advice to young university students about playing football: to love what you do and then you need to practice hard.

The CUFA Super Group Final was held after the ceremony at the Beijing Institute of Technology and David Beckham took part in a 10-minute fun football match with over 70 primary school students at half time. 

Source: Yutang Sports

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick