China’s Alibaba Said to Discuss High-Level FIFA Sponsorship
- Top-tier partners pay $160 million over a World Cup cycle
- Dalian Wanda signed up in March amid China soccer push
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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is discussing becoming a top sponsor of FIFA, according to people familiar with the matter, a partnership that would strengthen the ties between China’s power brokers and global soccer’s top executives.
Alibaba would become the second Chinese company to commit to soccer’s governing body at a high level after Dalian Wanda Group Co. signed up earlier this year. Since President Xi Jinping made soccer success a national priority, Chinese companies and businessmen have made a slew of investments in national and international clubs, and the country has made plain its desire to host the FIFA World Cup.