Leaders Head East With Gazidis and Hodgson

Today the Leaders Sport Business Summit touched down in China for its first foray into Asia at Sina Plaza Headquarters, Beijing. The inaugural one-day international summit welcomed 250 Chinese and international senior executives, 50+ media outlets and 20 speakers from the world of sport. The Summit examined strategies for growing sport in China, explored recent changes in the investment landscape, as well as analysed media consumption and sponsorship trends as China’s market rapidly develops.

The morning kicked off with Arthur Wei, Sina Sports Senior Vice President, discussing the rapid growth of the Chinese sports industry and the day kept the momentum through to the final discussion which featured Roy Hodgson, Former England Manager, sharing his thoughts on the next steps required to build a culture that breeds local stars of the future. Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive Officer, Arsenal, also took time away from the team’s China tour to talk about the tremendous growth opportunities in the eastern market.

 2017 attendees included; President, WME | IMG: Managing Director, China Infront Sports & Media; General Secretary, International Ski Federation; Head of Partnerships China, Liverpool FC; Vice President & Director of Partnerships APAC, Manchester City FC, Managing Director, MP & Silva; Marketing Director, NHL; Senior Marketing Director, Nike; Head of Communications, Valencia CF; Communications Director APAC WTA, WME | IMG China.

Quotes from the Summit:

“The three most important areas for China to improve their national football team 1. Coaching 2. Coaching 3. Coaching” Roy Hodgson, Former England Manager

 “It’s all about creating a policy which will decide where to portion money, how to get the message to Chinese parents that football can actually help your child” Roy Hodgson, Former England Manager

“Premier League broadcasts show top players like Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Mohamed Elneny in Muslim prayer before every game. We know these people as human beings and as personalities – and the fact that they’re Muslim is something you notice later. I think these images are tremendously powerful in pulling people together.” Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive Officer, Arsenal

“We arrived into Beijing airport and there were hundreds of fans going absolutely crazy. The last time we came, a fan broke through the barrier and ran up to team doctor Gary O’Driscoll – who’s young and fit and looks like he could be a player – and asked for an autograph, and Gary said – sorry, I’m not a player – and the young man said – Gary O’Driscoll, team doctor, please can I have an autograph – that’s how comprehensive their knowledge is.” Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive Officer, Arsenal

“At Arsenal we’re very much driven by our values, like giving young people a chance. Young players, sure, but all sorts of other things – youth programmes in Islington, which we’re now taking that global. We’re working in the education of migrant children here in Beijing.” Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive Officer, Arsenal

 “I joined the NBA in 2010, the year before Weibo started; Wechat started a couple of years after that. In the time I’ve been at the league, both those organisations have added half a billion users from scratch.” Collins Qian, Chief Operating Officer, NBA China