CBA signs 15-year deal in bid to boost popularity 09/06/2009 |
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Sports investor Kenny Huang Jianhua and his company QSL Sports signed a 15-year partnership deal with the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) on Monday aimed at popularizing a sport once banned in the country.
Huang, a Chinese-born financier who works with the New York Yankees and recently purchased a minority share in the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, will provide millions of U.S. dollars to fund the CBA's China Youth Baseball League (CYBL).
"I hope we could set a solid foundation for Chinese baseball and produce a number of elite players, super heroes like (Yankees pitcher) Wang Chien-Ming and (NBA player) Yao Ming," Huang told a news conference in Beijing.
The CYBL project will include equipment provision, coach training, facility construction, summer camps and international exchange programs as well as competitions for various age groups.
"It is not a short-term investment. In the first one or two years we will just work on the basics with confidence and patience," said Huang. "We can't expect baseball to grow as quickly as basketball."
Currently there are 100,000 people playing baseball in a population of 1.3 billion, with six cities competing in the top Chinese Baseball League, according to CBA Secretary General Shen Wei.
(Source: Reuters)
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