CHINA soccer received a multi-million dollar shot in the arm yesterday with the announcement that Philip Morris Asia Inc. will sponsor the 1994 Chinese national football league.
Announcing details of the venture at yesterday's press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, cigarette company Marlboro will pump in at least US$1 million as part of the Chinese Football Association's 10-year development plan to boost Chinese soccer to a level which could one day rival the hugely successful J.League in Japan.
Aims of the development plan are also to upgrade the quality and profile of the Chinese football league.
The International Management Group (IMG) have been entrusted to marketing the big project.
The 1994 season of the Marlboro league, consisting of 12 teams, will start on April 17 and will end on November 13.
Each team will play a total of 22 matches on a home and away basis.
The 12 teams competing are Liaoning, Beijing, Guangdong, Jilin, Guangzhou, Army, Shenyang, Sichuan, Dalian, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Shandong.