Barcelona launches major soccer academy in China

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Ronaldinho launched a Barcelona academy for about 1,000 students in China on Friday, as the world's most populous nation pursues its grand ambitions in the world's most popular sport.

The Barcelona and Brazilian veteran champion and club president Josep Maria Bartomeu met children and toured the site located at the Mission Hills golf complex on Hainan island, which will have seven pitches when it opens later this year.

Ronaldinho speaks at the launch ceremony of a Barcelona academy in Haikou, Hainan province in south China on February 24, 2017. /CFP Photo

The academy, which will also serve as a training center for China's national team and top clubs, is one of tens of thousands of facilities expected in the coming years, as China strives to become a football superpower.

"We know Barcelona FC works very well with kids, with high-level professionals that are coming to work here," Ronaldinho said. "I believe they will help a lot and Chinese football is going to learn a lot."

Representatives of Barcelona FC and Mission Hills sign an agreement to launch a Barcelona academy in Haikou, Hainan province in south China on February 24, 2017. /CFP Photo

The new facility will be the biggest of Barcelona's 20-plus academies around the world, and the first directly managed by club staff. It is still dwarfed by the Evergrande Football School in Guangdong Province, which has links with Barcelona's Spanish rivals Real Madrid, and more than 2,000 students, making it the world's biggest academy.

But Mission Hills Vice Chairman Tenniel Chu told AFP in November that the Barcelona academy will eventually grow to 30 pitches, alongside an international school with a capacity of 5,000.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (C) scores against Leganes in a La Liga match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain on February 19, 2017. /CFP Photo

China, whose national team is wallowing at 86th in global rankings, plans to have 50,000 academies and football-focused schools by 2025, the Education Ministry said this week.

"It will probably be the (biggest) project of football in the world," Bartomeu said, referring to the new academy. "I think China needs...what Mission Hills is doing in Hainan, and for China it's going to be a new step for the growth in football.”

Alongside the academy in Hainan, Barcelona will also open a 7,000-square-meter “Barcelona Experience” center, featuring exhibits and merchandise for sale.

(Source: AFP)

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