FC Bayern Munich had already announced in March their at first five-year involvement in the building of a football school in Shenzhen. That deal included agreements on the training and overseeing of coaches, a continued exchange in knowledge and training camps. Now FC Bayern Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and President Uli Hoeneß have met the partners in the southern Chinese city during the 2017 Audi Summer Tour.
Shenzhen is a city of 17 million inhabitants and China’s high-tech centre. By the end of 2019 the “FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen” is set to open to roughly 1000 students. It will include a training centre with 16 football pitches, working space for doctors, coaches, classrooms, halls and a boarding house. The majority of the students there are expected to come from the area in and around the metropolis.
Since China began its state promotion of football, including a bilateral football treaty with Germany, cities and provinces have been opening up for cooperation. “The future is the most important thing that a club or football organisation can promote,” Rummenigge explained this weekend at a reception hosted by the current minister of Shenzhen responsible for sport, Zhang.
Bayern president Uli Hoeneß was also impressed by a video presentation of the project, which was developed by Zhongde Sports Investment Co., Ltd. “What we saw proves to us that football in China, and in particular in Shenzhen, is on the right path,” said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He also promised deputy mayor Zhang Hu and Shenzhen SASAC director Peng Haibin which is the headquarter of Zhongde Sports: “Our coaches will have a continuous exchange of ideas with them. They will visit here and there are plans for their coaches and players to regularly visit Munich. I am sure that we can help to improve the quality of football in China.”
Shenzhen is in the economically important Chinese province of Guangdong. It borders Hong Kong and the average age in the city is 31.
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