Manchester City purchase stake in Chinese third-division side

City Football Group have added a seventh outfit to their worldwide footballing roster with the joint-purchase of Chinese third-tier club Sichuan Jiuniu FC.

The group are already majority shareholders in both New York FC (USA) and Melbourne City FC (Australia); they also have shares in Yokohama F Marinos (Japan), Club Atletico Torque (Uruguay) and Girona FC (Spain).

Along with the stake in Sichuan Jiuniu FC they have purchased artificial intelligence and humanoid robotic company UBTECH and China Sports Capital, the latter had been a commercial partner with Manchester City since 2016.

City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano gave a statement on the organisation’s website about the deal:

“Today marks an exciting new chapter in the growth of City Football Group. China is an extremely important football market, which we have been focused on for some time. We are delighted to welcome Sichuan Jiuniu FC to our Group, alongside our partners, China Sports Capital and UBTECH. We see this as a natural extension of our existing activities.

“From our work together at Manchester City and across CFG, our relationships with CMC Inc., China Sports Capital and UBTECH make us very confident that we have established a strong ownership group which is well placed to oversee this Club.”

“We believe strongly in the future of football in China. We are making a long-term, sustainable commitment to grow and develop Sichuan Jiuniu FC and to nurture Chinese footballing talent. These objectives are equally important. Our immediate focus will be strengthening our football performance, using all of our experience and know-how, forging a strong relationship with our fans and building a strong presence in the community. We cannot wait to get started.”

Their latest acquisition is based in the Sichuan Province in South West China, and currently play in the Chinese League Two. They have been playing there since their relegation from League One in 2009.

The club has been through various name changes since there creation in 2006 following the disbanding of then top tier side in their city Sichuan Guancheng F.C. Sichuan Jiuniu FC play in a 27,000-seater called the Chengdu Longquanyi Football Stadium.

It was the group’s worst kept secret as rumours have been circling since the start of the month that City Football Group would finally venture into the Chinese market. They are just the latest of a number of European giants dipping further into the Asian leagues.

Real Madrid have had a deal with Guangzhou Evergrande’s footballing school since 2015 and have been sending coaches over to train the next Chinese generation as part of the countries aim to become a footballing giant.