Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung’s planned takeover of Premier League side Birmingham City is set to provide a shot in the arm for China’s soccer players.
The billionaire is expected to complete his US$130 million purchase of the club in the next three weeks after formally lodging a bid by sending out official offer documents to other shareholders on Tuesday.
He already owns 29.9 percent of the team and co-owners David Sullivan and the Gold brothers, David and Ralph, have indicated they will sell their 50 percent stake.
If he reaches a 90 percent stake that will trigger the compulsory purchase of the remaining shares, Yeung’s declared objective.
But he also has another objective — developing Chinese soccer.
“Over the past 10 years China has had its sports boosted, but there has been no development for football,” Yeung told British reporters when lodging the takeover bid.
“So I would like to make my humble contribution. In the future, when the team is stabilized, we will recruit Chinese players who have potential,” he said.
“My biggest wish is to bring the English Premier League club to China, promote English professionalism and football concepts to the Chinese, and to let the Chinese know how a English football team is managed,” Yeung said.
Chinese soccer has long needed a savior.
Despite being a country of 1.3 billion people, the national team has repeatedly underachieved, qualifying only once for the World Cup finals when they reached the 2002 tournament in Japan and Korea.
They crashed out of qualification for next year’s World Cup at the first hurdle and are currently on their seventh coach since 2000.
Few Chinese players have successfully made a switch to Europe, with national captain Zheng Zhi one of the few exceptions, recently signing for Scottish powerhouse Celtic after three years at Charlton Athletic.
The mission to cure China’s soccer ills would reportedly include building a dedicated school, inviting Chinese coaches to St Andrew’s and even offering Birmingham as a base for the national team before big tournaments.
In a recent interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Vico Hui, chief executive of Grandtop International, Yeung’s investment vehicle that launched the takeover attempt, made clear China would be a beneficiary.
“We will become the first Chinese owners of a club in the Premier League. Our business will be idolized. We will be bringing glory to the Chinese people,” he told the newspaper.
“China has a huge market. We will try to promote the business. We may talk to the management about swapping players between China and the United Kingdom to improve Chinese football technique,” he said.
Shareholders have until Oct. 6 to accept the offer, which is being funded by a £57 million (US$94 million) bridging loan pending the completion of a planned share issue at the Hong Kong-listed Grandtop International.
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