Giant Chinese conglomerate Wanda – chaired by the nation’s richest man – has signed a 15-year strategic partnership with FIFA.

The deal is the first sponsorship agreement of the Gianni Infantino era following the Swiss lawyer’s election as president of the world football governing body last month. It is also the first time a Chinese firm has become a top-level sponsor of FIFA, and represents the nation’s growing interest in football.

Wanda – chaired by Wang Jianlin – will now have the global marketing rights to all FIFA competitions. The deal will include all World Cup events up until 2030 – the World Cup that Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has earmarked for China to host or win.

Wanda said in a statement that the agreement would allow it to “be better placed to play a role in the bidding process to host major football events such as the World Cup” thus “closing the gap on international football and enabling Chinese football to have a say in international football.”

“Although the development of football in China is still in its infancy, with the world’s largest football fan base and biggest football market, opportunities are enormous,” the statement continued.

Indeed, following the announcements, Jianlin told a press conference that he expected more Chinese companies to partner with FIFA, as having multiple sponsors “will help China bid to host the World Cup.”

Wanda is now FIFA’s sixth top-level partner alongside Adidas, Coca-Cola, Gazprom, Hyundai and Visa.

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