China choose Sao Paulo as training base for Rio 2016

China has chosen Sao Paulo's prestigious Esporte Clube Pinheiros as its training base for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Folha de S.Paulo, a local newspaper in Sao Paulo. 

With an area of 170,000 square meters, equivalent to about 10 football pitches, the venue already houses facilities for 15 sports, including table tennis, artistic gymnastics, swimming, badminton, football and tennis.

The Chinese delegation is expected to total around 350 people, including athletes, coaches, officials and conditioning staff.

The announcement follows 18 months of negotiations between Chinese officials and the club's administrators. Esporte Clube Pinheiros is expected to reveal more details about the agreement in the coming days.

According to the newspaper, the facilities have already been rented and will be available to China between July 22 and August 15. China has also reserved a hotel close to the venue, booking most of the rooms available.

Source: Xinhua

Proofread by John Devlin