Barcelona - coming to Haikou

A football field in Haikou, Hainan province [Photo: haikoutour.gov.cn]

Barcelona legend Ronaldinho has travelled to China as part of the launch of Barcelona's new academy for young players.

The academy will be located in Haikou, the capital and most populous city in Hainan Province.

It will welcome as many as 1,000 talented young players, aged to 18, and trained to the same exacting standards as FC Barcelona's young players in Spain.

Barcelona is one of the most - if not the most - celebrated teams on the planet. Their overseas training programme already includes over 20 locations around the world, but the one on Haikou will be the first to feature an 'experience area' for players and fans alike.

Football is becoming increasingly popular in China, so it's no surprise that Barcelona are keen to scout the country for the best young talent. Other major teams from around Europe, and further afield, are now expected to follow suit.

Earlier in February, we reported that the incredible draw of the Chinese Super League is now such that top European referees are being tempted to leave local leagues to move to China.

British referee Mark Clattenburg, amongst others, is understood to be frustrated with the level of scrutiny of individual decisions in the European game.

Do you want to see more European clubs and figures involved in the Chinese game, or would you rather that Chinese talent was promoted? Let us know via our Twitter and Facebook feeds.