FOOTBALL’S ‘BAMBOO REVOLUTION’ - HOW CHINA IS FUNDAMENTALLY SHIFTING THE CENTRE OF POWER IN FOOTBALL Simon Chadwick - ‘Class of 92’ Professor of Sports Enterprise

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@Prof_Chadwick

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£25 million for Ramires

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China 2014• President Xi announces plan to create domestic sport economy worth $850bn

• Optimistic estimates of current global industry size = $400bn

• At heart of plan: 1) World Cup; 2) industrial development; 3) health and fitness

• People’s Republic, people’s game

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Challenges

• Historically centralised, state-led model of sport• Issues in human capital, notably absence of competence, training and development

• Poor performance record, especially in football• Others include: space, education, corruption

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China 2015• Wang Jianlin buys 20% stake in Atletico Madrid for $52mn

• Next buys Infront Sports and Media for $1.2bn• Then is sat next to Sepp Blatter at his re-election

• Chinese investors acquire Sochaux, Den Haag, Espanyol, Malaga, Slavia Prague

• Finally, 13% of Manchester City

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Types of investor

• State-owned enterprises• Private equity investors • Entrepreneurs

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Some issues

• Fast-tracking the development of sport to create a sporting/football culture

• Model being developed in light of challenges• Alignment of external investments with internal goals

• China’s economic bubble• Motives of investors & government corruption purges

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And the plan is…

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Conclusions• Given China’s recent industrial development, sport trajectory seems inevitable

• Expect more investment and growing network influence

• Remain mindful of economic conditions in China, and of corruption

• Strategic & managerial considerations e.g. timescale, talent development, knowledge transfer and dissemination

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Contact details

• E-mail S.M.Chadwick@salford.ac.uk• We Chat Simon_Chadwick

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