"Our aim is to help popularise football, a sport which is part of the Chinese dream," said Dr Ken Chu, Chairman and CEO of the Mission Hills Group. "We chose Hainan for our Football Training Base because of the year-round weather, especially during the winter. It has been designed and built for players of all ages and abilities, from professional teams to amateur and youth organisations."

Having displayed their legendary skills on the pitch, the football stars will now be turning their attention to golf, as they prepare to compete in the 2016 Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am on Oct. 22-23.

Also in Hainan for a week of golf and glamor are Hollywood stars Michael Douglas and Jeremy Renner, Wimbledon champion Boris Becker and basketball Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Yao Ming.

These iconic athletes and entertainment stars will be gracing the fairways of the signature Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Haikou alongside golfing greats Gary Player, John Daly, Mark O'Meara and Rich Beem - winners of 14 Major Championships between them - plus an equally impressive foursome of LPGA stars Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist.

Local favorite Li Haotong, winner of the European Tour's Volvo China Open earlier this year, will make up the field of nine elite golfers who will be competing over two rounds of individual stableford for a prize purse of 1 million dollars - with 250,000 dollars going to the winner. The golfers will also be playing alongside their celebrity partners in a separate bid for the team title.

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