Blues confirm opening game in China
Chelsea FC Chief Executive Peter Kenyon confirmed that the opening game of the Samsung-Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 this summer will be in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
It will be played against the Chinese Super League team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in the Olympic Stadium, the venue for the 2010 Asian Games, and is currently scheduled for July 23.
Kenyon said: “I am delighted that we are coming to China, and particularly to Guangzhou, for the first time. We have a lot of support here and now we can give our Chinese fans the opportunity to see us play. “Chinese football is developing at a rapid pace and Chelsea wants to play a role in that. We are a major partner in the Vision China grass roots project and are committed to making that a success. “I would like to thank the Chinese FA for their invitation to play here, Mr Liu, the Director General and Party Secretary of Administration of Sport for Guangzhou, for helping with the arrangements and Kito, our match sponsor. “Guangzhou has a well deserved reputation as a sporting city with excellent facilities. Together with our sponsors Samsung and adidas we will be working hard to put on a great show for the fans.” The match is the second of the summer tour to be confirmed following the announcement earlier this week that Chelsea will play a Malaysia Selection, an all-star team of the best players from the Malaysian Super League, currently scheduled for July 29 in Kuala Lumpur. Chelsea’s opponents Guangzhou Pharmaceutical played Manchester United last summer, losing 3-0, and this year were promoted to the Chinese Super League. The city is probably better known to Europeans under its westernised name of Canton and is situated 75 miles from Hong Kong. Chelsea has built a number of significant relationships in China and Asia recently. Last year it became the first major club to sign a partnership with the Asian Football Confederation as the Official Football Development Partner of the confederation’s Vision China grass roots project, part of their larger Vision Asia programme. So far Chelsea has helped launch four of the planned 10 Vision China city leagues, in Chengdu, Nanjing, Wuhan and Qingdao and another is coming soon in Zibo. Chelsea and the Chinese FA have worked closely together before and the club hosted the Chinese Olympic football team for a two-week training camp in the winter of 2007. In addition Chelsea has become the exclusive football club partner of a grass roots talent search in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where Guangzhou is the capital. The Super Soccer Star television show will be broadcast in the province of Guangdong in April with the four finalists destined to visit Chelsea’s world renowned Academy and Stamford Bridge later in the summer.The club is also a sponsor of the International Football Arena Beijing, the leading independent forum for debate among the game’s leading figures which will take place again on May 23 and 24 in the Chinese capital. The tour will be the first time Chelsea has played in Asia since May 2005 when the opponents were the Suwon Bluewings, the K League team owned by sponsors Samsung.
It will be played against the Chinese Super League team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in the Olympic Stadium, the venue for the 2010 Asian Games, and is currently scheduled for July 23.
Kenyon said: “I am delighted that we are coming to China, and particularly to Guangzhou, for the first time. We have a lot of support here and now we can give our Chinese fans the opportunity to see us play. “Chinese football is developing at a rapid pace and Chelsea wants to play a role in that. We are a major partner in the Vision China grass roots project and are committed to making that a success. “I would like to thank the Chinese FA for their invitation to play here, Mr Liu, the Director General and Party Secretary of Administration of Sport for Guangzhou, for helping with the arrangements and Kito, our match sponsor. “Guangzhou has a well deserved reputation as a sporting city with excellent facilities. Together with our sponsors Samsung and adidas we will be working hard to put on a great show for the fans.” The match is the second of the summer tour to be confirmed following the announcement earlier this week that Chelsea will play a Malaysia Selection, an all-star team of the best players from the Malaysian Super League, currently scheduled for July 29 in Kuala Lumpur. Chelsea’s opponents Guangzhou Pharmaceutical played Manchester United last summer, losing 3-0, and this year were promoted to the Chinese Super League. The city is probably better known to Europeans under its westernised name of Canton and is situated 75 miles from Hong Kong. Chelsea has built a number of significant relationships in China and Asia recently. Last year it became the first major club to sign a partnership with the Asian Football Confederation as the Official Football Development Partner of the confederation’s Vision China grass roots project, part of their larger Vision Asia programme. So far Chelsea has helped launch four of the planned 10 Vision China city leagues, in Chengdu, Nanjing, Wuhan and Qingdao and another is coming soon in Zibo. Chelsea and the Chinese FA have worked closely together before and the club hosted the Chinese Olympic football team for a two-week training camp in the winter of 2007. In addition Chelsea has become the exclusive football club partner of a grass roots talent search in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where Guangzhou is the capital. The Super Soccer Star television show will be broadcast in the province of Guangdong in April with the four finalists destined to visit Chelsea’s world renowned Academy and Stamford Bridge later in the summer.The club is also a sponsor of the International Football Arena Beijing, the leading independent forum for debate among the game’s leading figures which will take place again on May 23 and 24 in the Chinese capital. The tour will be the first time Chelsea has played in Asia since May 2005 when the opponents were the Suwon Bluewings, the K League team owned by sponsors Samsung.
posted by Robert Halter at 1:40 PM
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