Yeung´s Birmingham takeover a boon for China

Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung’s planned takeover of Premier League side Birmingham City is set to provide a massive shot in the arm for China’s beleaguered football players.

The billionaire is expected to complete his 130 million US dollar purchase of the club in the next three weeks after formally lodging a bid by sending out official offer documents to other shareholders on Tuesday.

He already owns 29.9 percent of the team and co-owners David Sullivan and the Gold brothers, David and Ralph, have indicated they will sell their 50 percent stake.

If he reaches a 90 percent stake that will then trigger the compulsory purchase of the remaining shares, which is Yeung’s declared objective.

But he also has another objective — helping develop Chinese football.

“Over the past 10 years China has had its sports boosted, but there has been no development for football,” Yeung told British reporters when lodging the takeover bid.

“So I would like to make my humble contribution. In the future, when the team is stabilised, we will recruit Chinese players who have potential.

“My biggest wish is to bring the English Premier League club to China, promote English professionalism and football concepts to the Chinese, and to let the Chinese know how a English football team is managed.”

Chinese football has long needed a saviour.

Despite being a country of 1.3 billion people, the national team has repeatedly underachieved, qualifying only once for the World Cup finals when they reached the 2002 tournament in Japan and Korea.

They crashed out of qualification for the 2010 World Cup at the first hurdle and are currently on their seventh coach since 2000.

Few Chinese players have successfully made a switch to Europe, with national captain Zheng Zhi one of the few exceptions, recently signing for Scottish powerhouse Celtic after three years at Charlton Athletic.

The mission to cure China’s football ills would reportedly include building a dedicated school, inviting Chinese coaches to St Andrew’s and even offering Birmingham as a base for the national team before big tournaments.

In a recent interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Vico Hui, chief executive of Grandtop International, Yeung’s investment vehicle which has launched the takeover attempt, made clear China would be a beneficiary.

“We will become the first Chinese owners of a club in the Premier League. Our business will be idolised. We will be bringing glory to the Chinese people,” he told the newspaper.

“China has a huge market. We will try to promote the business. We may talk to the management about swapping players between China and the United Kingdom to improve Chinese football technique.”

Shareholders have until October 6 to accept the offer, which is being funded by a 57-million-pound bridging loan pending the completion of a planned share issue at the Hong Kong-listed Grandtop International.

Yeung first attempted to seize control of the club in 2007 but failed, triggering the departure of highly-rated manager Steve Bruce mid-way through a season that ended in relegation.

They were promoted back to the top flight last season.