China's largest search engine, Baidu, has signed a deal with the owners of Goal.com, Perform Group. The pairing of the two companies has launched a new football portal, called goal.baidu.com; a site that will provide Chinese football fans with up to date information on international competitions and the domestic Chinese Super League, using goal.com's 500 strong team of journalists. The website will also use Opta, a stat gathering platform used by 800 broadcasters and professional leagues globally, including the English Premier League. China has recently made a significant financial investment in football, with the Super League spending 300 million US dollars over the last transfer window, whilst the Chinese government has stated their intention to become a “football superpower” by 2050.
