Beijing - The Chinese Super League (CSL) held a press conference today in Beijing to officially announce Ford and Chang An Ford as the Premier Partner of the CSL for the 2014 to the 2017 season. This partnership marks the first automobile brand to ever sponsor the CSL throughout the league's history. For the next four years, as part of this partnership, Ford will be the exclusive and official car of the CSL and its clubs. Ford's commitment to the CSL and to Chinese football demonstrates tremendous growth and value of China's top football league.

At the press conference, Ford and Chang An Ford announced the donation of 20 cars to the CSL clubs for their use and further development of Chinese football. Marin Burela, President of Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd., stated "Not only do we fully support the league, we will also help to expand and improve the football business and contribute to the development of Chinese football. Ford, as the world's most popular car brand and deeply passionate about football, hope to bring in and incorporate Ford's experience with football globally into the CSL and see an immediate effect to the development of Chinese football." According to Ford's plan for this year, Ford hopes to organize over 600 football themed events throughout the country and is expected to invest over 150 million RMB.

The China Football Association's Vice President and Chairman of the CSL, Yu Hongchen, expressed, "I am very pleased Ford is now our Premier Partner joining our roster of sponsors. This to me signifies that the CSL is truly improving and is becoming more and more recognized. In the future, we will have more opportunities for development and provide our sponsors with a more expansive and broader platform."

According to reports, Ford and the CSL were in talks from around the end of the 2013 CSL season. With the help of IMG, the strategic partner of the CSL, Ford and the CSL met frequently in Beijing and Chongqing, which ultimately resulted in a first ever partnership between the CSL and an international car brand. Ford is the latest of the globally recognized brands that IMG has brought to the CSL. Similar to Ford, IMG's commitment to the CSL is broad-based and comprehensive - everything from global best practices to training and to governance.

IMG's Asia Pacific Chairman & CEO-Greater China, Adam Zhu, said "I am extremely proud that Ford and the CSL have partnered together after much talk and negotiation. The CSL is the most popular football league in China with hundreds of millions of fans. Every high-level football league throughout the world has an automobile sponsor, thus with the partnership between Chang An Ford and the CSL means that our football league now has world football practices. We are honored that IMG, as the CSL's strategic partner, contributed to this partnership and our work will not stop here; we will ceaselessly and actively strive to contribute more to Chinese football."