Granada expand their brand in China and Asian market, hand in hand with LaLiga

LaLiga Santander club Granada CF and Chongqing Lifan FC have signed a strategic agreement to further the development of football in China, which has been ratified by Javier Tebas. The LaLiga president was in attendance at the signing ceremony alongside Jiang Lizhang, the majority shareholder of Granada and president of the sports marketing agency Desports, as well as the Andalusian club's managing director, Sergi Vieta, and director of football, Javier Torralbo. The event served to lay down the foundations through which Granada will introduce their working methods and philosophy in the Asian country in partnership with Chinese Super League outfit Chongqing Lifan, where former Arsenal player and England captain Tony Adams is the new technical director.

"I hope this collaboration between Granada CF and Chongqing Lifan helps to promote Spanish coaches and enables them to pass on their experience in China. As a league, we're proud of this link-up," explained Javier Tebas during an event that also saw the unveiling of two Chinese players who will be joining the Spanish club's academy. Tebas went on to praise the efforts being made by China to adapt and improve its football scene, including by teaming up with other competitions: "The tie-up between the two clubs also represents a further example of the cooperation between LaLiga and the Chinese Super League and it goes to show just how much Chinese football is progressing."

This agreement is part of the DEFA road map, a plan drawn up by Desports and Media Base Sports (MBS) which was unveiled in March of this year. The objective of the blueprint, as well as to import knowledge relating to management in the football industry, is to send Chinese players abroad and to see LaLiga increase its presence throughout the Asian market.

The project's first success story involves goalkeeper Wang Zixiang, who linked up with Udinese at the tail end of last season and is now set to continue his development with Granada. The 18-year-old custodian will be joined by fellow countryman Feng Jin, who is a member of the Chinese Olympic team and who is fully expected to go on to represent the full national team in the near future.

In addition to the president of LaLiga and representatives from the Andalusian club, the ceremony was also attended by the deputy mayor of Chongqing, Wu Gang; the chairman of the Lifan Group, Yin Mingshan; the coach of Chongqing Lifan, Zhang Wailong; the Chinese club's new technical director, Tony Adams; and former Chinese international striker, Hao Haidong.

The signing of this strategic partnership sees Granada make some initial inroads into the Chinese market, with LaLiga assisting the club in their efforts to promote their brand throughout Asia.