Barcelona puts down roots in grassroots game

Spanish soccer giant Barcelona is looking to gain a foothold in the Chinese market by co-operating with the Chinese Football Association (CFA).

"I've noticed that a lot of European clubs are trying to link up with Chinese clubs but I can tell you frankly we are here not for money," Javier Munoa, Barcelona's International Business Director, told China Daily during the International Football Arena yesterday.

"We are here to help Chinese football, from grassroots to professional league, I know there is a lot of work to be done before selling any of our products here."

As a part of the project, Barcelona will visit Beijing on August 5.

A number of European clubs including Manchester United and Real Madrid have visited China in recent years with ambitions of developing the Chinese market.

Apart from commercial matches, those clubs have already had some successes in terms of merchandising.

But there are no such plans for Barcelona to achieve any particular commercial targets in China in the near future.

"We don't pretend to help and we want to build our image by way of supporting Chinese football. It doesn't happen overnight as we will put our efforts in China in a very long term."

"We want to build a strong foundation in China and that's why we are looking to work with and build co-operation with the CFA."

Munoa said the club is planning to set its sights on China's grassroots soccer first and is likely to join "Vision China", an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) program that focuses on setting up competitive amateur leagues to attract sponsors and fans.

Eight cities have taken part in "Vision China" since it was launched in Qingdao last year.

"Given our long-term cooperation with Chinese football, we need to do some work to know about the culture and people here. I hope to leave some legacy for fans rather than just some commercial matches."

However the details of the cooperation were not disclosed as Munoa said it's still "under discussion".