1.) 21 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 09:38:55
Ed what is your opinion on the City football group and similar entities? Personally I don't like the sound of it but on the other hand if it was Utd Football group; my opinion may be different.

{Ed002's Note - Since China opened up it has thrown a massive potential market in to the mix for professional sports (not just football, but there are other growth sports as well) and a number of Chinese companies see the potential for significant income from the game. Chinese money is already flooding through football with ownership and/or investment in clubs as diverse as Inter Milan, Southampton, Espanyol, Den Haag, Milan, Sochaux, Aston Villa, Milan, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Prague and significantly, City Football Group.

City Football Group of course owns Manchester City, New York City and Melbourne City or part owns Yokohama F Marino, Girona, Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu - and they are looking to expand further in to China and further in South America through collaboration agreements such as the one they have with Atletico Venezuela. 20% of the group is Chinese owned.

For years the professional game in China was under a cloud of corruption (including match-fixing) and the Chinese, and to be fair FIFA, have worked very hard to resolve the issues. The game is on the up there and they have the money to pretty much do what they want, and this involves taking a mix of players to play in China - there are high profile players at high-profile English sides that are being offered significant financial rewards for moving to China. Subject to Chinese government rules regarding foreign investment, there is now a shift coming in Europe and I would expect to see further investment in European sides - there is one organization looking hard at Germany, another already successful in buying in to Italy and a conglomerate that has already had one approach to a London club turned down and they will return.

They of course have to work within certain legal ownership frameworks and that will restrict investment in certain countries but do not be surprised to see another English side be taken over by Chinese owners in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, the profile of the game at home is increasing and the market to be tapped significant. I spent several months in Hong Kong working in both 1988 and again in 1990 and it was clear then that the mainland needed a step change and it could get leverage over so much - since then that has happened. Six months working out of Beijing in 2005 (until they pretty much forced me out) showed that changes were happening - since then I understand from colleagues who do visit that it has moved on a lot.

In terms of my personal view:

The Chinese are intent on cleaning up their act and want to promote sport within a nation that has only recently fully opened their doors to the outside world. There is a significant shift in wealth to the Far East and in particular China. They will invest and build in their own leagues and they will go to other parts of the world to learn. Players from the EPL have followed players from Europe and South America to China and there will be more - although the Chinese authorities are now bringing in restrictions to make it more manageable - but in the longer term the Chinese will cherry pick and then look to grow. This then leads to potential movement of players within the consortia (as Udinese has done with Watford, and Manchester City has done with New York and Atletico Venezuela). That is something we will see more of but there are plenty of walls in the way based on (a) convenience, and (b) potential abuse of national or international FFP rules. They will learn from the mistakes of others and they will soon be looking to add coaching capabilities by recruiting from other leagues. It is progress - like it or not.

Conglomerates such as the City Football Group have not manipulated anything and they have invested time and money in to the communities where the clubs are based – which is a major plus.}

2.) 21 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 12:52:14
Thanks for the detailed info Ed :)

3.) 21 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 13:57:52
Phenomenal post thanks ed.

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}

4.) 21 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 14:54:05
Wow now this is very insightful and eyeopening. Thank you Ed. It is easier to understand and accept now that I see the bigger picture.

5.) 21 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 16:50:16
They don't fancy buying United do they?

6.) 22 Feb 2019
21 Feb 2019 23:33:50
ED 002, brilliant summation and really interesting, thank you for that.

The Chinese market/ economy is very interesting, it is also interesting from a cultural viewpoint, that a once, for want of a better word, isolationist type country with a communist history is embracing all these opportunities, that would have been anathema to them a decade ago.

Again thanks for that detailed response.