(Bloomberg) -- The Premier League has opened an international office in Beijing to help further increase the appeal of English football in the key Chinese market.
The league has also signed an agreement with the Chinese Football Association that will see the two organizations collaborate on the development of elite players, coaches and match officials, as well as training for grassroots coaches and referees, it said Thursday.
China has long been trying to establish itself as a major footballing nation. The country’s domestic league has lured some high-profile players from around the world with big-money contracts, while Chinese investors rushed to buy into European football clubs before Beijing acted to stem the flow of money out of the country. Wolverhampton Wanderers, owned by Fosun, is one of the few remaining Chinese-controlled teams in Europe.
Opening an office in China will help the league and clubs “build on our popularity and strengthen our relationships with fans and partners,” Premier League Chief Executive Officer Richard Masters said in a statement.
The Premier League makes most of its money from TV rights, fueled by overseas deals, but it ran into problems in China in 2020 when the local distributor, Suning Holdings Group Co.’s PPTV, terminated a lucrative contract.
The Premier League opened its first overseas office in Singapore in 2019, primarily established to fight content piracy content and support broadcast partners. It also has an office in New York.
Back at home, Masters has been in conflict with Manchester City, one of his league’s biggest teams, over financial rules. The Abu Dhabi-backed club has challenged in court the fairness of the league’s rules on associated party transactions related to sponsorship deals with companies linked to clubs’ owners.
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