A Chinese electronics company were yesterday revealed as the new sponsors of the Portuguese Segunda Liga and almost immediately had to backtrack one of the agreements in their sponsorship deal.
In a press conference in Beijing, Ledman Electrics were announced as the new sponsors of the League and they revealed the Chinese players were to join clubs in the league.
Crazy. Chinese multinational Ledman sponsor Portuguese 2nd tier. Mandatory inclusion of Chinese players in 10 teams. pic.twitter.com/8dLGWjI7Fq
— Tom Kundert (@PortuGoal1) January 26, 2016
After a pronounced backlash from the Portuguese public and players union, the demands of the company were changed and teams are now not obliged to play Chinese players.
In a statement released on Ledman's website, they state; "Ledman will send 10 players and three assistant coaches to play football in the top 10 clubs of Segunda Liga, and devotes to enhancing the level of Chinese players."
While the teams are now not expected to play the players regularly, they will reportedly receive extra money to play the Chinese players. China has regularly underperformed on the international stage. They are currently 82nd in the FIFA World Rankings and have not competed in the World Cup since 2002. That was their sole appearance at the tournament.
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