Alibaba Sports Group, Alisports, and global sports and entertainment group CSM have entered into a partnership to develop and run a range of global sport properties and develop mass participation events across China.
With the goal of China’s President Xi Jinping to turn the country into a “great sports nation”, creating an industry worth Rmb5tn ($760bn) by 2025, up from Rmb400bn last year,the two organizations are working together to develop a number of sports programmes and properties for elite sport and grassroots sport participation.
The partnership will bring together two global powerhouses with very different skills sets but the single ambition of expanding the appeal and participation in sport across China. Alisports’ depth and breadth of knowledge of e-commerce and internet-based technologies is an ideal fit with CSM expertise and experience in all sports from creation and inception to execution and engagement. This partnership will deliver some exciting and innovative sport programmes and events to millions of fans across China.
“Alisports’ parent company operates the largest e-commerce market in the world. With a mission to make it easy to do business anywhere and priding themselves in changing the way people meet, work and live we want to help them change the way people engage with and participate in sport, giving sports fans across China easier access to and more interaction with sport,” said CSM Group CEO, Zak Brown.
Commenting on the partnership Zhang Dazhong, chief executive of Alisport said: “Sport is a national priority for China. It has the power to create shared happiness and encourage healthy lifestyles. With CSM’s extensive knowledge across all sports and Alisports’ dominance in internet-based technologies we can bring greater and better products and services to all sports fans in China whether they take part themselves or cheer on their heroes.”
The partnership will see bespoke events created across a number of sports at elite and grassroots level targeting Alibaba’s half a billion users and turning them into sportsmen and women and sports fans.
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Enquiries
Tim Bampton, CMO, CSM
Tel: +44 20 7593 5239
Mbl: +44 7468 714614
Jackie Brock-Doyle, CSM Communications
Mbl: +44 7876 785756
Notes to Editors
About CSM
CSM is a global leader in the business of sport and entertainment and is part of Chime, now owned by Providence Equity Partners. CSM is active in every major sport through world-class services from strategy to execution. The organisation is made up of a collection of specialist agencies and operates on every continent with over 800 people across 26 offices in 19 countries. For more information, please go to www.csm.com
Alisports, founded in September 2015, is a sports platform established with the aim of placing the entire range of services from ticketing, and broadcasting rights to rights management in one hand. It addresses the interests of both spectators and sportspersons. The utilisation of Internet-based technologies will play a decisive role in the transformation of the sports industry in China. Alisports is a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group, the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume.
