In a formal ceremony on Thursday, 7 November 2019, the foundation stone of the new FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen was laid. FC Bayern München AG Head of Internationalisation and Strategy Jörg Wacker and FC Bayern President Asia Rouven Kasper, together with Bavarian Minister of State Hubert Aiwanger, Shenzhen’s Deputy Mayor Wang Lixin and FC Bayern Legend Giovane Elber performed the ceremonial ground breaking.
“Today is a special day for FC Bayern Munich, for the city of Shenzhen and for football development in China,” Wacker explained. “We want to work together with our partners in the city of Shenzhen and its local Ministry of Education to implement a high-quality football concept in our joint FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen.”
“Today’s laying of the foundation stone at the FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen symbolises the deepening of cooperation between Bavaria and the city of Shenzhen in our partner province of Guangdong. We as Bavarians are proud to support China’s football development,” said Hubert Aiwanger.
Shenzhen’s Deputy Mayor Wang Lixin: “With the FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen, a figurehead of football development and the German-Chinese partnership is being created and the modern football culture in our country is further promoted.”
Preparations for the project have been underway since March 2017 with the city’s own Shenzhen Investment Holdings Company and the agency China Sports Futurity. The FC Bayern Football School Shenzhen can train up to 2,160 pupils in 54 classes. It is set to begin operations in September 2020 – temporarily from another campus – with a total of 20 football pitches, including six full-size ones.
Shenzhen lies just a few kilometres north of Hong Kong. The city of 12 million people was declared the first special economic zone in China in 1980 and has since risen to become one of China’s economically strongest cities.
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