IMG Sees U.S. Sponsorship Interest in China Soccer

IMG Worldwide Inc., the sports agency that this month announced a marketing agreement with China’s top professional soccer league, has started setting up meetings with possible U.S. corporate sponsors.

“We’ve just begun the process, but there’s a tremendous interest from companies in the U.S.,” Adam Zhu, the head of IMG’s operations in China, said in an interview in Beijing yesterday. Meetings to discuss possible sponsorships have been held with “major consumer product companies,” with IMG also planning a promotional tour for the league, Zhu said, without identifying which companies had participated in talks.