The Beijing Shougang national ice hockey club was recently founded in accordance with a strategic cooperation agreement between the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports and Beijing Shougang Sports Culture Co., Ltd. The three parties have agreed to cooperate in developing the ice hockey club over the next five years to promote ice hockey in China.

As part of China's sports reform, the new model of “national sports club" aims to attract the society’s participation in developing competitive sports. This model integrates the resources of government organizations, sports associations and companies to boost the popularization of sporting events and the competitiveness of national sports teams.

Shougang Group, as a large state-owned enterprise, boasts rich experiences in operating sports clubs. Early in 1988, Shougang founded the Beijing Basketball Team in collaboration with the Beijing Sports Commission. So far, the company has managed to operate high-level professional teams including the Beijing men's basketball team, the Beijing women's basketball team, the Beijing women's table tennis team as well as the Beijing Shougang Jinying women's softball team, the first national club for summer sports in China.

At the moment, Beijing is offering a well-established foundation, favorable social ambience and a complete talents cultivation system for the development of ice hockey. The club will expand from the Beijing Ice Hockey Team and its local youth development program to include talent selection nationwide and even from abroad. The club members will go overseas for intensified training and participate in high-profile events, allowing the players the best opportunities to develop and fulfill their potential.

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