Forbidden City?

It's a week since the news of Chinese businessman Liu Shilai's appointment as vice-chairman of Leicester City was revealed, but it's still unclear exactly what his role will be.

Mr Shilai, who officially takes up the post on December 1, will share the vice-chairmanship with Aiyawatt 'Top' Raksriaksorn, son of chairman and owner Vichai Raksriaksorn.

Although the club say the move will not lead to a change in the ownership structure, it's not known if Mr Shilai intends to provide funding to the club in the form of loans, which owner Mr Raksriaksorn has done.

Mr Shilai, whose appointment has been approved by the Football League, knows the Raksriaksorns through their mutual love of polo. They have also been pictured together with China's Forbidden City in the background (Mr Shilai is pictured above, second from the left)

It seems the Chinaman's appointment is mainly to help give the club better access to a potentially lucrative market. China is full of millions of increasingly affluent football fanatics.

If nothing else, it's a very interesting move which will attract a lot of attention from other British football clubs who will be keen to see how it goes from both a commercial and cultural point of view.

But I may have to wait some months before I get to see the paperwork providing the full details around Mr Shilai's appointment.