Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi: I’m so at home in Wolverhampton
Wolves’ executive chairman Jeff Shi has opened up on his move from China and how he has settled into life in the UK.
Fosun bought Wolves in 2016 and helped them to a Premier League promotion and a move into European football.
Behind the scenes Shi, pictured, who grew up in Shanghai, relocated to a vastly different culture and environment – but it was a move he has enjoyed.
Speaking to China Global Television Network, Shi said: “I enjoy it here, I think the people are very friendly and gentle. And for a foreigner, it’s easy to settle in and I don’t feel any barriers – ‘OK, I’m a foreigner, I feel so hard to live here’ – no, I don’t think so.
“In general, because the UK is highly developed, I think it’s easy and the economy is not bad and the living quality is quite good. The first time I came to London was 2009, as a tourist – to enjoy the city, to go to the British Museum, the National Gallery.
“But I think it’s so different when you go to another city apart from London. I travel to every away game, so I have been to all the places in the UK, maybe more than local people.”
Shi and his family have settled in Wolverhampton and he even admitted his daughters, aged 13 and nine, are ‘forgetting’ Chinese and now focus on English.
He added: “(It’s) quite quiet, especially the area I’m living in. It’s very green, the environment is very good. Every game you have 30,000 people to watch, so it’s a big football city. Wherever I go, I meet the fans, they’re very nice and friendly.
“If you come to Wolverhampton, if you go to the pub, if you go to the restaurants, you can hear all the people are talking about Wolves. Sometimes I go to a Chinese restaurant, there’s maybe 10 tables and they’re all talking about Wolves. Eventually it’s about the happiness in the whole city, the buzzing life.”
