Alibaba Group officially announced on January 2 that Alisports Founder and CEO, ZHANG Dazhong, has stepped down as the CEO of Alisports as his contract has come to an end although he will continue to serve as one of the directors and as a consultant for Alisports. 

Alibaba’s online media platform, Youku, has appointed its General Manager of the Youku Sports and Children Division, DAI Wei, as CEO of Alisports while he still retains his titles and responsibilities at Youku. 

After appointing Dai Wei as its CEO, Alisports will be further integrated with the Culture and Entertainment Division of Alibaba Group. 

Alisports was founded in September, 2015. Since its foundation, Alisports has focused on collaborations with Chinese cities in the sports sector, eSports and campus sports, with a tendency to focus on the actual realization of sports and exercise in the physical off-line environment. In April 2018, Alisports announced A round financing of CNY1.2bn, with a market valuation of over CNY8bn. 

Youku Sports live broadcast the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has reached a collaboration with Suning’s PP Sports in forming a joint media platform to bring many football events such as the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, CSL and others to audiences. 

Both Youku and Alisports belong to Alibaba Group’s Culture and Entertainment Business Division which includes companies like Alibaba Pictures, Heyi (Youku and Tudou), Alibaba Music, Alisports, UC, Alibaba Gaming, Alibaba Literature and Alibaba Digital Entertainment. 

Reference: iFeng  

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick