‘Visiting Friends’ is the motto for this year’s Audi Summer Tour and on the second day, the FCB delegation paid a visit to some special friends. CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president Uli Hoeneß as well as vice-president Prof. Dr. Dieter Mayer and board member Jörg Wacker went to see the FCB staff at the office in Shanghai.
“I was excited when we opened the office in March. We feel we’re in good hands here and very happy. After New York, it was the right decision to open an office in Shanghai too,” said Rummenigge after the reception with Bavarian specialities such as wheat beer, pretzels and veal sausage.
Proud of the development
Hoeneß, who was visiting for the first time, also expressed his enthusiasm: “The office is impressive and much bigger than I thought. We can be very proud that FC Bayern has developed so well internationally and has fans in so many countries.”
These fans in China want to show their support for the record German champions during their tour. And Rouven Kasper, managing director in Shanghai, is delighted to see them: “This visit is very important and means a lot to us. It’s an absolute commitment to our international project. They’re the faces and hearts of FC Bayern, it’s really great.”
Close contact with fans
The FCB branch in China, which now employs nine people, has been in operation since September 2016 and the official opening took place in March of this year. “The staff here are doing a very good job. We want to run a dual strategy. The first part is having close contact with our fans in the area. And you can see that we’re attracting more and more fans all the time. The second part, and I make no secret of this, is of a financial nature, but we have a long-term strategy here. We want to help the country and Chinese football develop,” stated Rummenigge, explaining the aims of the FCB office in China.
