China

National Hockey League team the New York Islanders will visit China at the beginning of next season for a training camp and exhibition matches

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited will be the first Chinese company to become a global sponsor of FIFA under a deal to be signed tomorrow in Beijing.

The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) will create more training camps targeted at boxers from disadvantaged nations.

Former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury has agreed to play professional basketball in China, where he will at the same time market his Starbury range of basketball apparel.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV put a high rating for the opening match of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) down to Chinese basketball star Yao Ming's purchase of one of the competing teams, the Shanghai Sharks, prior to the start of the new season.

A group of Chinese investors led by businessman Kenny Huang is buying a 15-per-cent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers off a Michigan-based investment firm.

Package delivery company UPS has renewed its sponsorship of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League and China Men’s National Basketball Team for an additional four years.

German-based car maker Mercedes-Benz has acquired the 10-year naming rights of the new stadium under construction at Shanghai's World Expo site.

Football’s world governing body FIFA announced yesterday that Chinese state-broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has acquired the rights to all FIFA tournaments, including the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.

The Chinese city of Harbin’s application was declined by China's General Administration of Sport (GAS) late last month, an official in the city's sports bureau said yesterday.

The National Basketball Association is to add between 10 and 50 employees in countries including China and India, the league’s commissioner David Stern has said, speaking at a pre-season exhibition game in London.

The Economist has reported that China’s sports industry remains largely under state control, and is being held back by under-investment and a lack of marketing skills.

The 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China is planning 2,500 hours of live TV programming for the event.

Spanish football club Real Madrid is calling for earlier kick-off times in Spain’s league so that more fans in China can watch the matches.

US baseball league Major League Baseball has opened its first year-round development centre in mainland China, hoping to emulate the NBA’s success in encouraging Chinese talent.

Chinese media reported yesterday that Beijing, hosts of the 2008 Olympic Games, will bid to host the 2015 athletics World Championships.