Evergrande, of which Xu is chairman, has invested 1.2 billion yuan ($175 million; 164 million euros; 143 million) to set up a football academy in 2012 in Guangdong in cooperation with Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid will provide football training staff for the school.

Chu says MHGs partnership with Barcelona is not about "inviting foreign trainers" to China, but will "clone" Barcelona's world-class youth training system. MHG will take care of its promotion in China.

The Hainan facility, in the provincial capital Haikou, will be Barcelona's 26th overseas academy, and for the first time the club will dispatch its own technical staff to directly manage it.

"This is our commitment to China and the Chinese people that we are here to stay," says Jenny Yang, project manager of Barcelona's Asia-Pacific headquarters, in Hong Kong.

"Barcelona wishes to establish a lasting presence in China," Yang says.

In addition to a training center, the project will include an experience center to showcase Barcelona's rich history, while providing opportunities for visitors to experience the magic of football using cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality.

"We are very pleased to see the development of football that China enjoys at the moment and, in a humble way, we wish to add our experience and value. Our primary aim is to help discover and nurture future local football talent, and encourage grassroots interest in this sport," Yang says.

Contact the writers through zhanghaizhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/17/2017 page28)