CHINA. Futbol Club Barcelona (FCB)and Mission Hills Group today announced a landmark collaboration to make Hainan province a hub of football for China.
The partners will jointly open a major football academy in Haikou, the island province’s capital city. The project will include an interactive FC Barcelona experience area in Mission Hills Centreville Haikou. This major new tourism and leisure complex will span 500,000sq m and includes five-star hotel accommodation and international restaurants, shops and entertainment brands.
The development is a boost to Hainan’s burgeoning tourism industry, which is already benefiting from the introduction of offshore duty free shopping for Mainland Chinese visitors in 2011.
“FC Barcelona is delighted to be able to support the growth of the beautiful game in China and help you reach your goal of making this a great footballing nation” – Josep Maria Bartomeu, Futbol Club Barcelona
As reported, HNDF Haikou Meilan Airport Duty Free Shop recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. The retailer, a provincial government and private partnership between Hainan Provincial Duty Free Company Limited and HNA Group, began its offshore duty free shopping business at Haikou Meilan Airport on 21 December 2011. The partnership is set to open much-expanded shopping space at the Haikou Aviation Tourism Plaza adjacent to the airport. The Plaza is one of three major projects aimed at enhancing Haikou’s tourism appeal and shopping facilities.
Promoting the Barca brand
The 7,000sq m FCB experience facility will offer visitors “immersive and interactive experiences” to bring people closer to the ‘Barça’ brand, highlighting its football stars and their stories, as well as the club’s history, philosophy and values. It will also offer official FCB merchandise and a food & beverage outlet.
“FC Barcelona is delighted to be able to support the growth of the beautiful game in China and help you reach your goal of making this a great footballing nation,” said FCB President Josep Maria Bartomeu. “Opening our first 100% FCB-managed football school here in China is a huge commitment. It demonstrates our confidence in our partner Mission Hills and in the future of Hainan, as well as our optimism about the footballing talent we expect to find here.”
Mission Hills Group Chairman and CEO Dr. Ken Chu said: “Since 1992 Mission Hills has been helping to popularise sport and leisure in China – including our flagship sports of golf and tennis – and now we are devoting our efforts to football as well. Mission Hills has a grand vision to create a legacy for football in China through a partnership with one of the most-loved football clubs in the world. We believe our footballing dream can act as a platform for a future generation of footballers in China.”
President Xi Jinping, who is known to be a football enthusiast, last year unveiled a vision of China as a “world football superpower by 2050”. His plan calls for China to have 50 million children and adults playing football by 2020 and world-class national teams by 2030.
