BARCELONA: FC Barcelona CEO Oscar Grau believes that the club’s pre-season tours to Asia in 2019 and 2020 will eventually lead the club to play a regular La Liga season game in China, South China Morning Post reports.
“Since the beginning Barcelona supported this project. It’s good for the brand of La Liga, for the brand of Barca. We can reach more fans, for potential sponsors, for the potential TV rights.” Grau was quoted as saying to the newspaper.
Grau revealed that the La Liga giants were looking to play a minimum of two games in China and places to hold training seasons to get up close with fans. Co-incidentally, he has been responsible in the expansion of FC Barcelona’s Football Schools in the country as well as other Asian and Australasian nations such as Japan, India, Singapore and Australia.
Grau is optimistic that more Asians will be a part of the Barca teams within a decade, with six academies expected to be opened in China by 2020.
“I am confident that all the work in our academies can have a result. In 10 years I think we can have players from Asia in the Barca team.
“In the first team we know it’s difficult but why not? I think our style of playing helps, that any citizen of every country can play in Barcelona.
“We want to help to develop football in China. All our academies, the coaches came from Barcelona. They try to teach the values and methodology. It’s not just a franchise.
“Values is one of the key points that Barcelona tries to teach our kids. We talk about humility, effort, ambition, respect and teamwork. And, of course, to play with the ball.
“We don’t just want to arrive, to make a business and to leave,” Grau added.
The club also recently opened the ‘Barcelona Experience’ at Mission Hills in Haikou, Hainan as a part of their fan engagement initiative which has been called the “the territory of Barca in China”. Fans can visit a museum and shop for official club merchandise, making it the first such centre anywhere outside the Catalan city.
