FIFA deal brings China’s World Cup dream closer

Beijing: China's chances of hosting a World Cup have risen thanks to property-to-entertainment conglomerate Wanda spending big to sponsor FIFA, the company's chairman said Monday.

 Wang Jianlin, one of China's richest men, said his firm's decision to become a top-level sponsor of football's scandal-tainted governing body FIFA will "boost China's chances of winning the host rights if the Chinese government decides to bid for it", the official news agency Xinhua reported.

 Wang also predicted that by the end of the year three Chinese companies would be top-tier FIFA sponsors.

 China's president Xi Jinping, himself a football fan, is pushing to make the nation into a football power despite its dismal national team, ranked 96th in the world by FIFA.

 The leader has publicly declared his hopes that China will one day host and win a World Cup.

 The corruption scandal engulfing FIFA has provided an opportunity for Chinese investors by driving away previous sponsors, Wang suggested.

 "It was only because some sponsors cancelled their contracts that other sponsors could step in," he was quoted as telling reporters.

 Under the FIFA deal, Wanda will have sponsorship rights to all FIFA competitions and corporate activities up to and including the 2030 World Cup. Financial terms were not disclosed.