Guangzhou Evergrande, one of China’s winningest football teams, has had a 50% stake in the club purchased by China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, for a reported RMB 1.2 billion, reports the BBC.
It looks like the local sports team will be undergoing yet another name change. But as we contemplate whether this will be the largest payment ever on Alipay.com, we’re left with Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s words at a June 5 press conference:
“We’re not investing in football, we’re investing in entertainment. Alibaba’s future strategies are health and entertainment.”
The mind boggles at the implications of the many new brand and product possibilities under the Alibaba corporate umbrella. Guangzhou football video games as Alibaba mobile apps? Being able to vote off deadwood on the Guangzhou football team using Alipay?
With the sad state of Chinese football and the sensational headlines it always garners, we can only hope that “health and entertainment” are also future strategies for the Guangzhou football team as well.
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