Wang Jianlin: New boss of Chinese Super League?

China finally decided to free the Chinese Football Association (CFA) from its sports governing body, the State’s General Administration of Sport after outlining the football reform schemes in late February.

The decision would ultimately transform the CFA to a self-administrative organization, enabling the football body to gain autonomy in institute structure, working plan, budget, human resources and international exchanges.

According to the spirit of the reform, and under the plan to re-establish football in China, the CFA, currently the biggest shareholder, would opt-out the equity of Chinese Super League (CSL), leaving a big question mark on the status of potential successive boss of China’s top tier football.

But here comes a name of a big player who has spent heavily in sports sector.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, would have a chance to become new boss of CSL if he would take over the 36% stakes of the brand from Chinese Football Association (CFA), as an observer pointed out yesterday after the country’s football body officially separated from.

Additionally, former managing director of CSL Liu Weidong has just left his post for Wanda Group earlier last weekend, indicating Wang and him would make alliance to deepen into the emerging sports industry, or football particularly.

But there are rumours indicating that Mr Liu, who is believed to direct the sports sector at Wanda, could return to the managing position of CFA-free CSL as “this was not a simple job-hooping”, the observer commented.

To support his view, the observer pointed out that Wanda Group, as a commercial powerhouse, could buy into the CSL and their chairman Wang Jianlin himself is a huge fan of the sport. Moreover, the potential deal would make Wang a far more influential player in China’s football if he would manage to obtain the core resources of the sport in China.

As Wang stated in an interview back to 2011, “If the country needs me some day, I could drop my business or spend a high proportion of revenues on improving China’s football. If I would have the serious chance to make the sport in China impress, to be honest, it would be more meaningful to make contribution to the country and to offer people pleasure than to run an outstanding incorporation”.

Source: China Entrepreneur