Football team Beijing Guoan will receive a cash investment of 20 million yuan ($2.93 million) from the Chinese government in an attempt to improve the image of football in the capital.
According to Reuters, the money will be spent mainly on youth development but will also fund a friendly against current World, European and English champions Manchester United in the city in July.
“After a successful Olympics, the under-development of football is doing harm to the image of the Beijing,” said head of the Beijing Sports Bureau Sun Kanglin to a news conference over the weekend.
“The government will give Guoan no less than 20 million yuan this year ... and it will definitely be a long-term co-operation.
“We know the external perception of football is not good enough, so the bureau will promote the city club by giving support in terms of human resource and money, in order to better display Beijing via such a window in the future.”
Guoan cancelled plans to play home matches in the 80,000-capacity National "Bird's Nest" Stadium built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of fears the poor reputation of Chinese football would tarnish the iconic venue's image.
