Alibaba chairman: Macau has ‘untapped potential market for sports’

Joe Tsai, chairman of Alibaba and owner of NBA team the Brooklyn Nets, believes Macau has untapped potential to host sports-related events.

As one of the headline speakers of the recent Greater Bay Area (GBA) International Sports Business Summit, Tsai spoke on how international sports events could bring socioeconomic value to China and more specifically to the GBA.

It is hoped that, as part of the Macau’s “1+4” development scheme, this summit can attract and foster cooperation with MICE and sport organizations.

Tsai, an avid sports enthusiast, said “I think that there is huge untapped potential market for sports related events in the China because the audience and fan base is there, the NBA alone has 300 million viewers in China.”

The summit aims to promote the coordinated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the global sports industry, and to help the Greater Bay Area to connect China with Asia and other parts of the world through sports.

The summit featured Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, Dwyane Wade, Superstar Basketball Hall of Fame member, and Li Ning, founder of Li Ning brand.

The summit, held over the weekend, brought together industry leaders in the world of sports.

Yao Ming on when his successor will emerge

When asked about the potential emergence of the next Yao Ming, the former basketball legend shared his insights at the summit.

“Sometimes I feel that people should not expect another Yao Ming because I have many unique conditions,” Yao Ming explained. “Not all children possess such conditions. I grew up in a sports family, my parents were professional athletes, I was discovered at a young age, started training early, and also received some preferential resources. To some extent, this is not replicable.”

“Personally, instead of expecting an irreplicable model, I prefer to find one that can be replicated,” he said. “Can we expect the next Jeremy Lin? I know Jeremy Lin grew up in the United States, so can we expect to see more players like Zhao Jiwei, Guo Ailun, Liu Wei, Guo Shiqiang, and Hu Weidong appearing soon? Perhaps they have more connections with ordinary families. If there are more players like this, our basketball level, league quality, and basketball market will be even better,” Yao said. Staff reporter