FC Schalke 04 to play in China this summer

‍‍‍‍Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 will stage part of their pre-season preparations for the 2015/16 season in China, the club's marketing director Alexander Jobst confirmed during a talk at the newly-founded S04 Sportakademi on Thursday.

"The trip is planned for the end of July," Jobst said.

Several clubs chose to prepare for new season in China in order to develop the emerging market.

The opponents and the venue will be announced in due course as the Gelsenkirchen club look to increase marketing activities in the Asian market. "The Bundesliga on the whole, and that of course means us too, have a lot of ground to make up, particularly compared to the English Premier League," said Jobst. "More and more clubs have recognised this and are flying out to the Far East, the Middle East or to the USA."

Schalke have staged their last four winter training camps in Qatar, although the contract they had with the Aspire Sports Academy has now expired. It is not yet certain whether the Royal Blues will pay the host country for the 2022 FIFA World Cup a visit again during the next winter break.

Schalke never played in china before, but they signed with Chinese electronics giant Hisense in 2014 and started their development in China. Chinese player, Hao Junmin used to play in the team during 2010-2011.