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Soccer Dream of a Nongovernment Business Entrepreneur
When Beijing Kuanli soccer team is mentioned, many Beijing fans may tell you many stories about the team. Of course, what they mentioned most is Beijing Kuanli soccer club. This is a club organized by nongovernment business entrepreneur Jia Lihua, board chairman of Beijing Kuanli Group.
As is known to people concerned with China's soccer cause, all major professional soccer clubs have been organized in the name of many a varied state-owned enterprises. It goes without saying it had been something totally unexpected or unheard of four years before when a nongovernment business enterprise came to set up a soccer club and a second level soccer team in the place of Capital Steel it had bought with one million yuan. Known as Kuanli Soccer Team, the team had entered National Football Class B League Matches 1998.
After entering the Class B, Kuanli soccer club spends almost as much as 20 million yuan a year. But this is by no means a small amount of money for Kuanli Group for it has been run with a registered capital of 60 million, a total of one billion yuan of assets and an annual profit of merely over 20 million. Is it worthwhile for Kuanli Group to spend so much money on soccer? But Jia Lihua has his own words to say about the money seemingly squandered. He said there were no other ways for Kuanli Group to gain so much popularity excluding soccer when the same amount of money is spent. Meanwhile, this must be a sustainable way to the benefit of Kuanli Group according to Jia. An enterprise will surely attract people's attention when it enjoys great popularity thereby paying the way to its development.
Apart from being benefited by the popularity of Kuanli Group derived from the money spent on soccer, another reason for Jia Lihua to organize the soccer team is that he loves soccer. It has been a long-cherished dream of Jia Lihua to bring happiness to Beijing people by organizing a soccer team to join in soccer matches. He said, soccer is a sports game close to common people and many persons can enjoy themselves in football matches. In contrast to soccer clubs set up by state-owned enterprises, I think, nongovernment business enterprises like us have an edge to run a soccer club. For example, in Kuanli Group there is only one management line for me, the club manager, the coach and the players to follow. Simple and practical management can prevent problems and solve problems easily.
Kuanli Group has an annual profit of merely a little more than 20 million yuan. How can Kuan manage to get the money to support a soccer club? As benefited by experiences of foreign soccer clubs, Jia Lihua let people know his guiding thoughts for an improved function to earn enough money to make both ends meet by his soccer club.
Though Kuanli soccer team has been renamed Beijing Bird, Jia Lihua should be admired for his courage and devotion to the cause he takes an interest in and lives for. Now Vice-chairman of Beijing Football Association, he still prepares to redouble his effort for the rise of a professional soccer market in China.
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