Chinese investment leads oldest Czech soccer team to championship
In September 2015, during Czech President Milos Zeman's visit to China, the situation of the Slavia Prague football club was discussed. Having learned the details, Ye Jianming, chairman of Chinese conglomerate CEFC China Energy Company Ltd, made a decision within two days to purchase the club.
The purchase saved the brand of Slavia and won the hearts of millions of Czech people who were relieved to see the team back on feet.
The investment, seen by others as an unprofitable deal, was in Ye's eyes a non profit project. It resonated with the corporate culture of CEFC－h(huán)elping others succeed is the greatest success.
The action built a strong credit and reputation for CEFC and other Chinese companies residing in the Czech Republic. Through building close connections with the Czech people, it echoed the aim of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is to promote trade, financial integration, infrastructure inter-connectivity and people-to-people exchanges along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.
The football team's feedback is far beyond the original investment purpose of the CEFC. The company has become a well-known enterprise in the Czech Republic and won the Czech people's respect for Chinese brands.
The CEFC helped the club pay off the debts, and further invested in and supported the re-establishment of the club. It spent large sums of money to keep a famous Czech forward Milan Skoda to stay, and invited Dutch forward Karol Kisel and a senior coach Jaroslav Silhavy.
To bring new blood to the team, the CEFC was also the first in the country to launch a set of advanced player data selection system to analyze all data of European players, through which the team found Michael Ngadeu, one of the club's best players now.
Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, the club made its way to the top of the national football league. In May, Slavia finally won the trophy of the Czech Liga after eight years.
