Major League Baseball (MLB) has signed an agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) to help relaunch the China National Baseball League (CNBL).
China’s top domestic baseball competition has suffered numerous stuttering starts since its inception in 2002, being suspended in 2012 and 2017 due to a lack of funding and exposure.
But in a bid to establish the league as a permanent fixture in the Chinese sporting calendar, the CBA has looked abroad, signing a memorandum of strategic cooperation with the MLB as part of a relaunch of the CNBL, which saw the Tianjin Lions take on the Beijing Tigers last week.
Jim Small, MLB’s senior vice president of international business, said: “The Chinese baseball market has great potential for growth, and with the sport part of the 2020 Olympic Games, I’m sure these efforts will help take the baseball to the next level, and MLB will be glad to be a part of it all.”
Chen XU, the president of the CBA, said to China Daily: “After years of the sports being popularised and integrated into pop culture and now re-entering the Olympics, it’s time to try to build up to the top of the pyramid. Over the next 15 years, we are looking to build the CNBL into a mature league with a modern professional system that appeals to talent from neighbouring countries.”
The collaboration with the CNBL is the latest drive into China from MLB. Earlier this month, it appointed former Fox executive Tony QI as its managing director of MLB China to expand its media footprint in the country and increase baseball’s visibility. Last year, the league also launched a baseball development project in China, appointing Beijing Enterprises Real-Estate Group to build 20 facilities to help grow the game.
Currently, the CNBL has just four teams, with sides from Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Tianjin playing 18 rounds of home and away games over seven weeks. The top two teams will then compete in a best-of-five championship final series in October.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has signed an agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) to help relaunch the China National Baseball League (CNBL).
China’s top domestic baseball competition has suffered numerous stuttering starts since its inception in 2002, being suspended in 2012 and 2017 due to a lack of funding and exposure.
But in a bid to establish the league as a permanent fixture in the Chinese sporting calendar, the CBA has looked abroad, signing a memorandum of strategic cooperation with the MLB as part of a relaunch of the CNBL, which saw the Tianjin Lions take on the Beijing Tigers last week.
Jim Small, MLB’s senior vice president of international business, said: “The Chinese baseball market has great potential for growth, and with the sport part of the 2020 Olympic Games, I’m sure these efforts will help take the baseball to the next level, and MLB will be glad to be a part of it all.”
Chen XU, the president of the CBA, said to China Daily: “After years of the sports being popularised and integrated into pop culture and now re-entering the Olympics, it’s time to try to build up to the top of the pyramid. Over the next 15 years, we are looking to build the CNBL into a mature league with a modern professional system that appeals to talent from neighbouring countries.”
The collaboration with the CNBL is the latest drive into China from MLB. Earlier this month, it appointed former Fox executive Tony QI as its managing director of MLB China to expand its media footprint in the country and increase baseball’s visibility. Last year, the league also launched a baseball development project in China, appointing Beijing Enterprises Real-Estate Group to build 20 facilities to help grow the game.
Currently, the CNBL has just four teams, with sides from Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Tianjin playing 18 rounds of home and away games over seven weeks. The top two teams will then compete in a best-of-five championship final series in October.
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