Tag Archives: CSL

10 sporting questions for the Year of the Monkey

After a breathless few weeks during which the entire sporting world has been talking about Chinese football (with yours truly quoted by AFP three timesFT twice, El Pais, Hicimos, Vice Sports and interviewed by CCTVBBC and Al Jazeera among others), let’s take a look at a few stories that could be cropping up over the next 12 months…

funky-monkey-soccer

Continue reading 10 sporting questions for the Year of the Monkey

Astonomical CSL broadcast deal stuns China’s sports industry

CCTV, IMG and Infront – all huge names in the sports industry – were among the suitors to buy the rights to produce and broadcast the Chinese Super League. But these three, and others, were obliterated by the bid submitted by the comparatively little known Tiao Dongli, or CSM, worth a staggering 8 billion RMB over five years.

CSL money Continue reading Astonomical CSL broadcast deal stuns China’s sports industry

China Sports Insider Ep. 6 – Soccer Reforms in China

This is a studio discussion I did alongside the always excellent Rowan Simons, who – literally – wrote the book on this, on CCTV last week after the new soccer reforms in China were announced.

For previous episodes of China Sports Insider, please click below:

The World Cup with Chinese characteristics

China won’t be playing in Brazil – they have appeared at a World Cup just once and failed to score a goal – but millions will stay up late to watch the games – starting this Friday at 4 am when Croatia kicks off against the host nation in São Paulo. Here are 10 things in this year’s World Cup with a Chinese connection.  Continue reading The World Cup with Chinese characteristics

The Ma the merrier for Guangzhou Evergrande

Jack Ma is no idiot – he presides over a company that is set to go public at an estimated value of $152 billion dollars – but Evergrande looks to have got the better of the deal that sees Alibaba take a 50% stake in Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande for $192 million.

The drinking continues: Evergrande's Xu Jiayin and Alibaba's Jack Ma
The drinking continues: Evergrande’s Xu Jiayin and Alibaba’s Jack Ma

Continue reading The Ma the merrier for Guangzhou Evergrande

Chinese Super League announces Ford deal [UPDATE]

Changan Ford has announced a deal worth as much as 390 million yuan (US $63 million) over four years to become an official senior partner of the Chinese Super League, as well as the league’s promotion and development partner and its official vehicle supplier.

mmexport1399885899128 Continue reading Chinese Super League announces Ford deal [UPDATE]

Weekly Wrap: F1 F-up, Becks is back, Ding’s title bid and Perfect Pitch

The World Snooker Championships have begun in Sheffield, UK, with world number 2 Ding Junhui looking to add the only major title missing from his resume. Having won five ranking tournaments already this season, he continued his good form, taking a 6-3 lead over Michael Wasley in their best-of-19 first round match, and making the highest break of the tournament so far (136).  Continue reading Weekly Wrap: F1 F-up, Becks is back, Ding’s title bid and Perfect Pitch

Why Chinese soccer fans deserve better

Roads & Kingdoms has an excellent long-form piece by Gabrielle Jaffe profiling the fans of Chinese Super League team Beijing Guoan, exploring the history of the beautiful game in China and delving into the culture of supporter groups around the country.

China has a higher proportion of female football fans than many other countries
China has a higher proportion of female football fans than many other countries

For those unfamiliar with the capital’s sole CSL team, Beijing Guoan’s crowds last season would rank them eighth in the current list of English Premier League average attendances – above Everton, Spurs and West Ham.

There are lots of highlights, including this:

Continue reading Why Chinese soccer fans deserve better

China’s Group Of Death

Wednesday’s Asian Cup draw paired China with Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. Given those countries’ reputations, expect global headlines about a literal Group of Death:

  • Group of DeathChina – estimated to execute far more people than the rest of the world combined
  • Saudi Arabiano. 4 in the global list with 79 executions in 2013
  • Uzbekistan – has what the IHF called a “wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights”, with the current government blamed for massacring hundreds in 2005. Continue reading China’s Group Of Death