阿里巴巴擬將橄欖球引進(jìn)中國(guó)

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma, a relatively recentinvestor in China’s surging football industry, is nowhoping to promote another English import aftersigning a development and sponsorship deal withWorld Rugby.

阿里巴巴(Alibaba)董事長(zhǎng)馬云(Jack Ma)最近才投資了中國(guó)日益紅火的足球業(yè)，如今又與世界橄欖球聯(lián)合會(huì)(WorldRugby)簽訂了一項(xiàng)發(fā)展和贊助協(xié)議，希望推動(dòng)另一項(xiàng)從英格蘭引進(jìn)的運(yùn)動(dòng)。

Under the agreement, announced on Sunday, thee-commerce group’s sports division said it would make a “long-term multimillion US dollarinvestment in the development of rugby in China”.

根據(jù)周日宣布的協(xié)議，這家電商集團(tuán)的體育部門(mén)表示，將為中國(guó)橄欖球事業(yè)的發(fā)展投入數(shù)以百萬(wàn)美元計(jì)的長(zhǎng)期投資。

“We encourage young people to join rugby to cultivate the spirit of being strong-willed,aggressive, acquisitive and unified,” said Zhang Dazhong, chief executive of Alisports.

阿里體育(Alisports)首席執(zhí)行官?gòu)埓箸姳硎荆?ldquo;我們鼓勵(lì)年輕人參與橄欖球運(yùn)動(dòng)，發(fā)掘他們的頑強(qiáng)意志、攻擊性、進(jìn)取和團(tuán)結(jié)精神。”

The deal was announced at the annual Hong Kong Sevens, the world’s premier seven-a-sidetournament that is as famous for its off-pitch parties as it is for the on-pitch action.

該協(xié)議是在年度香港七人橄欖球賽(Hong Kong Sevens)上宣布的，這是一項(xiàng)世界頂級(jí)7人比賽，球場(chǎng)外的派對(duì)與球賽一樣出名。

In exchange for its support of the sport, Alisports will be given exclusive rugby broadcastrights for its internet platform. The partners will also collaborate to help China host moreinternational rugby events.

作為支持橄欖球運(yùn)動(dòng)的回報(bào)，阿里體育的在線平臺(tái)將獲得橄欖球比賽獨(dú)家轉(zhuǎn)播權(quán)。雙方還將合作幫助中國(guó)主辦更多國(guó)際橄欖球賽事。

Alisports was established by Alibaba in September with minority investors including Sina andYunfeng Capital, a private investment vehicle controlled by Mr Ma.

去年9月，阿里巴巴創(chuàng)建阿里體育，少數(shù)股東包括新浪(Sina)和由馬云控股的私人投資公司云峰基金(YunfengCapital)。

“This deal will ensure an unprecedented platform for rugby to reach, engage and inspirenew participants across China,” said Bernard Lapasset, World Rugby chairman.

世界橄欖球聯(lián)合會(huì)主席伯納德•拉帕塞(Bernard Lapasset)表示：“該協(xié)議將建立一個(gè)空前的橄欖球平臺(tái)，讓中國(guó)各地的新參與者參與進(jìn)來(lái)并激勵(lì)他們。”

Mr Ma, 51, is China’s second-richest man with a fortune estimated at $22.7bn, according tothe annual Hurun report. He was previously the country’s richest man before being surpassedby Mr Wang, whose wealth grew by more than 50 per cent last year. In 2015, Mr Wang paid$52m for a 20 per cent stake in Spain’s Atlético Madrid.

在胡潤(rùn)(Hurun) 2016年百富榜上，51歲的馬云排名第二，據(jù)估計(jì)，他的財(cái)富總額為227億美元。他之前曾是中國(guó)首富，如今被王健林超越，后者的財(cái)富總額去年增長(zhǎng)逾50%。2015年，王健林斥資5200萬(wàn)美元購(gòu)入西班牙馬德里競(jìng)技俱樂(lè)部(Atlético Madrid) 20%股權(quán)。

But it is far from certain that Chinese tycoons such as Mr Ma can do for rugby what they havedone for football, given its much lower profile in the world’s most populous country.

然而，鑒于橄欖球運(yùn)動(dòng)在世界人口最多國(guó)家受關(guān)注的程度要低得多，馬云等中國(guó)大亨能否在橄欖球領(lǐng)域做出他們?cè)谧闱蚪缱龀龅氖虑檫h(yuǎn)非確定。

China has been represented only sporadically at the Hong Kong Sevens by teams that haveoften been beaten heavily by other minnows.

中國(guó)僅偶爾派出球隊(duì)參加香港橄欖球7人賽，這些球隊(duì)往往被其他弱小球隊(duì)擊敗。