Guangzhou Evergrande opening Madrid soccer academy

Big-spending Chinese soccer club Guangzhou Evergrande will open a soccer school branch in Madrid this fall in a move to boost development of the sport on the mainland, the club has announced.

"Establishment of the Spanish school is part of our efforts to increase the club's strength in the long term and eventually help boost Chinese soccer," said Liu Jiangnan, president of Evergrande Football School.

The school is scheduled to open in September. Liu said the club will send 25 young players to the school each year to receive professional training from a squad of European coaches, as well as an academic education, for three years.