China

Shanghai is set to host a new rugby sevens event in October as part of plans to further raise the profile of the sport in China.

US video game developer Activision Blizzard has announced the sale of the first seven franchises for its new Overwatch League, with high-profile sports executives Robert Kraft and Jeff Wilpon among the owners of the new teams, which will be based in the US, China and South Korea.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that China, South Korea and Thailand are in contention to stage the Asian Cup national team tournament in 2023.

As the Chinese government seeks to control the overseas flow of its currency, Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Salford University Manchester and founding co-director of the China Soccer Observatory at the University of Nottingham, looks at a history of government intervention in the creation of the country’s sports economy.

China Aoyuan Property has put forward an offer of 3.3 billion yuan (€425.7m/$485.2m) to acquire a 22 per cent stake in China Sports Industry Group, as part of an effort to take advantage of increased demand for construction work in the country’s expanding sports market.

The Formula One motor-racing series has partnered with the Lagardère Sports agency in a move designed to further raise the sport’s profile in China.

The International Skating Union (ISU) has formed a working group to study the potential inclusion of a new discipline at the 2022 winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Schools in developing sports markets such as China and India are forging links that could eventually push them towards the top set in sports business postgraduate academia. Richard Mulligan reports.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has expanded the Women’s WorldTour for its third season in 2018 with the addition of new events in Belgium, Spain and China.

Chungwon Choue has today (Friday) been re-elected as president of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) as a new elite-level series, backed by Chinese investment, was unveiled that is designed to enhance the sport’s commercial appeal and media profile.

Sports and betting-related services company Sportradar has entered into a partnership with Beitai Digital, a leading provider of sports data products in China.

International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Jean Todt has confirmed the governing body has been approached by entities interested in forming new Formula One teams, amid reports of plans for a Chinese entry.

Chinese company Lander Sports Development has announced plans to form a wholly owned sports development subsidiary in the city of Hangzhou.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated to Gianni Infantino, the president of football’s global governing body Fifa, that the country wants to host the World Cup “in the future” after the pair met in Beijing.

The Alisports arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has joined forces with the International Ski Federation (FIS) in a move designed to raise the popularity of the sport in China ahead of the winter Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022.

Chinese retail giant Suning Holdings is in talks to invest in China Sports Media, which has media rights for the Chinese Super League domestic top-tier football competition, according to the Bloomberg news agency.