(CFP)

Wang Jianlin, Board Chairman and President of Dalian Wanda Group Corp. Ltd., has signed a contract with the Chinese Football Association, promising sponsorship of at least 500 million yuan ($76 million) in three years to revitalize China's football industry. The sponsorship is the biggest in the history of China's sport industry.

The money will mainly be used to recruit new young talent, said Wang.

Wanda Group is not new to the football scene in China. In 1993 the group established a professional team, called Dalian Wanda Football Club, the most successful one in China. But in 2000 the group withdrew from football games out of disappointment at the development of Chinese football.

Wang, 57, ranks 16th on Forbes' magazine's 2010 China Rich List.

He is also known for his generosity and devotion to charity. The website of Wanda Group says, over the past 20 years, 2.7 billion yuan ($410 million), either from Wang's personal wealth or company profit, has been given out in philanthropy. In November 2010, Wang donated 1 billion yuan ($152 million) from his personal finances for the restoration of the Dabaoen Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, the all-time largest donation from an individual on the Chinese mainland.