BVB makes China return a priority

Borussia Dortmund is hopeful that a canceled summer trip to China can eventually be rescheduled, with the club planning a “virtual tour” in the meantime to keep fans sated.

BVB called off its Asian tour in early March because of the coronavirus crisis, but managing director Carsten Cramer says the club is determined to make it back to China as soon as possible.

“We were sad that we had to cancel the trip because everyone was looking forward to it,” Cramer told China Daily.

“However, during the time that we were supposed to be here we will definitely start and plan a virtual China tour. And, for sure, we do have the hope that we can reschedule the tour from summer 2020.”

Like many major sports organizations, Dortmund has been busy keeping fans engaged online during soccer’s shutdown.

A “digital fan party” — featuring fan vlogs, discussions and a documentary on its Shanghai office — attracted 2.9 million live-stream views on Chinese social media, with the club hopeful of generating a similar buzz online with the “virtual tour”.

Dortmund has seen its Asian fan base swell since Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa starred for the team that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and ’12.

Cramer would like to see a Chinese player generating similar excitement in the yellow and black — but not for marketing reasons.

“Shinji was for sure the door opener to many Asian hearts and people. I can fully understand that the Chinese people might be looking forward to one of their players playing in Germany,” he said. “But we never scout people because of their nationality or territory, we scout them because of their ability.

“And if we find a big talent, we don’t care where he is from, as long as he is able to fulfill the criteria of our club. It always has to be on a serious professional level, it doesn’t make sense to hire somebody because of marketing purposes. That wouldn’t be the Dortmund approach.

“We would never hire a player for business purposes, he has to fulfill the sports criteria. As long as this is not existing, we need maybe some more patience.”