As part of the opening celebrations, the Bundesliga Football Park was inaugurated, unveiling a new safe space promoting grassroots football, youth development and community participation.
The facility is designed to give football enthusiasts and families the chance to practise their skills and get a taste of German football culture.
The launch event, attended by Bundesliga Legend Claudio Pizarro, also featured the inaugural Bundesliga Taicang YRD Corporate Cup, on 25-26 July, bringing together leading German and international companies, showcasing football’s ability to connect the business community.
“China remains one of the Bundesliga’s most important international markets. The opening of the Bundesliga YRD Hub marks another significant step in our long-term commitment to Chinese football and our local partners,” said Peer Naubert, Chief Commercial Officer of Bundesliga Media.
“Together with the Bundesliga Football Park and the Corporate Cup, we are creating a platform that brings together football, business and cultural exchange, while strengthening the close relationship between Germany and China through sport.”
The newly established YRD Hub will serve as a long-term platform for football development, commercial cooperation, fan engagement and cultural exchange, while creating new business opportunities between China and Germany both on and off the pitch.
In his speech at the launch event, Sheng Haifeng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Taicang Municipal Party Committee and Party Secretary of the Taicang High-tech Zone, said that Taicang High-tech Zone has been deeply engaged in cooperation with Germany for over thirty years, systematically building an ecosystem of collaboration spanning industry, culture, and environmental sustainability.
Football serves as an important bridge and bond for cultural exchange between China and Germany, he said, and plays a vital role in deepening mutual cooperation and friendship.
He expressed the hope that this tournament would serve as an opportunity to further deepen comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation with the Bundesliga, promote further and more substantial progress in cultural and sports cooperation between Taicang High-tech Zone and Germany, and continuously burnish the golden signboard of the “Hometown of German Enterprises.”
This initiative reinforces the Bundesliga’s position as the most active top European football league in China, continuing its sustained investment in youth football programmes, strategic commercial partnerships and initiatives that deepen Sino-German cooperation.
Alongside five Bundesliga clubs, the league’s Beijing office continues to orchestrate a range of grassroots and developmental projects, alongside its broadcast and commercial partners. In 2025, the Bundesliga strengthened its position further, signing strategic partnerships with China Mobile Migu and the high-tech zone of Taicang.
Earlier this year, the Bundesliga and Chinese media giant China Media Group (CMG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, witnessed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Qiang, and formalising a long-standing collaboration to promote and develop football across China.
The award-winning Bundesliga Dream China project, which gives youngsters a taste of life at a German academy, is already bearing fruit.
Ten players from last year’s project were part of the China U17 National Team which qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026, finishing second in their group and reaching the global finals for the first time in 22 years.