
Photo: VCG
China’s “Steel Roses” may have stumbled at the Women’s World Cup in France, but companies back home are still rooting for them.
Alipay will commit 1 billion yuan ($145 million) partly to the national women’s soccer team over the next decade, the Alibaba-affiliated internet payment company announced Friday. The donation, which will not be a commercial sponsorship, will be the largest yet for the team.
The initiative — funded by the Alipay Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation, and Joe Tsai Foundation — will focus on improving the performance of the national team and reaching out to young players, among other aims.
On Thursday, Alibaba founder Jack Ma invited members of the Chinese women’s soccer team — who had just returned from the Women’s World Cup in France after failing to advance to the quarter-finals — to Alibaba’s campus in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. Joe Tsai is a co-founder of Alibaba.
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The post has been updated to clarify that Alipay will commit 1 billion yuan to Chinese women’s soccer. The commitment will benefit the national women’s team only in part.