China is the most populous country in the world but there is not a single “golden page” written by them in the world’s most popular sport. Until now at least! It is not a secret that they are determined to play an important role in international football more than ever. But can China’s national squad reach the top rankings and if yes, when will they be able to achieve it? In order to investigate this more thoroughly, we need to understand the context like the general situation in China, the current status of national football squad and the domestic league, Chinese Super League.

Before 1978, China was a really close country to the outside world. They were not the economic superpower they are now. From that year until today, they embarked on a policy (special economic zones, open coastal sites, imports, exports and more) which would led them to adapt and adjust to the phenomenon of globalization. Because of the general conditions there (countless and cheap manpower, government-centric culture, etc.), they started thriving rapidly in many sectors and industries.

Traditional Chinese sports were and still are an important part of China’s sports activities, as well as a precious cultural heritage. Despite football has been one of the most well supported sports in China, since it was introduced in the early 1900s and even if the very first form of the Beautiful Game – Tsu’ Chu – was a Chinese military exercise more than 2 thousand years ago, it is not considered among the domestic traditional sports. After 1978, China started taking more seriously the non-traditional sports. The start was made with the Olympic Games of 1984 when 353 members of a Chinese sports delegation were participated and the country ranked 4^th in the number of gold medals.

China’s national football squad was never considered as a superpower. Their honors and milestones are not really impressive.

• FIFA World Cup: They have only participated once in 2002. They finished 31^st without scoring a goal and with 3 losses in 3 games.
• Olympic Games: They were eliminated in the 1^st round of the tournament in 1936, 1948, 1988 and 2008.
• AFC Asian Cup: They were runners-up twice in 1984 and 2004.
• Asian Games: They were runners-up in 1994.

In FIFA World Ranking (last updated: 02 June 2016), we can find them in 81^st position while Jordan is in 80^th and Bolivia in 82^nd.

Women’s national football squad, on the other hand, is currently 12^th in the respective FIFA World Ranking (last updated: 25 March 2016).

Despite the above situation, football was always in the air. Chinese are very proud people. It is a matter of prestige for them to be protagonists in the world’s most popular sport.

Until the latest years, the rise of Chinese football was not any decision-maker’s priority. But now it is. Mr. Xi Jinping, the President of the Republic of China, is a big fan of football. His actions and his persistence not only set the foundations for football in China to rise but also boosted its progress.

• He separated the country’s football association (CFA) from the sports ministry and fought the existed corruption.
• He also made the game a required part of China’s school curriculum.
• His attention to football led to more investments in the game by many domestic companies.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has outlined plans to create 50,000 special football schools in a decade.
Finally, football initiatives have been developed such as Vision China in co-operation with FIFA which covers marketing development, footballer, coach and referee training, sports medicine, competitions, media, fans and assessments to Chinese Football Association (CFA).
It is worth to mention that according to some rumors, CFA is considering to offer citizenship to foreign players making them able to join the Chinese national football squad.

All the above, had – and still have – a massive impact on the domestic league of China, the Chinese Super League.

China’s ultimate target is to create a world class national squad and to become a superpower in football. This can only happen with home-grown talents rise. Chinese Super League’s (CSL) facts and figures reinforce this target. They think globally and act locally.  After all, a strong domestic league can lead more easily to a strong national squad.

CSL’s Structure:

• There is a reserve league and a youth league open to all the professional clubs. In this way, recently-arrived or injured players and young talents can adapt easier and smoother to CSL.
• Each club is allowed to have in their roster only five foreign players. At least one of them must be from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) countries. Only four of them can be involved in any game. This limitation is very important because it does not allow the clubs to create a roster full of foreign mercenaries and also it forces them to be more selective with their transfers. In this way, not only talented home-grown players are necessary but they have also the opportunity to play alongside important and selected foreign players, most of them not veterans but at their prime.
• The above tactic is not only beneficial on the field but also on the marketing and branding improvement because a domestic league is more popular when it consists of many native players and few foreign who can make the difference.

CSL’s Latest Transfers:

• Chinese clubs were always trying to attract talented football players at their prime. However, the players that have been attracted during the winter transfer window of 2016 were something more than this. There were many world class players, mostly from South America and Africa, who joined the CSL.
• But there is something even more crucial than this. Most of the latest transfers to China were about bringing back to their country Chinese international players.
• Breaking transfer records is one thing but creating a quality team is another. That is why many experienced managers and staff were also appointed by Chinese clubs. Additionally, there are serious actions of covering sports’ operation and management positions with a combination of talented and experienced individuals.
• Competing internationally for players is important, but a strong league must also produce its own high-quality players, dominate continental competitions and attract attention (attendances, broadcasting, sponsorships) both domestically and internationally.

CSL’s Figures (Attendances, TV, Sponsorships, etc.):

• For 2016, the average CSL stadium’s capacity is 47000 while the average attendance is 26233 spectators (56%) per game. According to Wikipedia, the attendance rises year after year.

• CSL has one of the highest average attendances in the world and there are predictions that by 2018, the league will be the third most-watched football league in terms of average attendance in the world behind the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League. (Table’s Attendances were taken from worldfootball.net).

• Recently, Ti’ao Dongli managed to secure the broadcasting rights for both Chinese national squad (more than 10 million dollars per year for 4 years) and CSL (more than 240 million dollars per year for 5 years). CSL’s most revenue will go to youth training and improvement of club facilities. Ti’ao Dongli also reached a deal with LeSports for global broadcasting rights (more than 100 million dollars per year for 5 years) which will help to the rise of overseas viewers significantly. Considering that English Premier League’s broadcasting rights costed to both Sky and BT more than 2 billion dollars per year for 3 years we can understand that Chinese Super League is in the right direction but still far behind from the most popular league in the world.
• The main sponsorship deal of CSL also reveals the signs of growth. From 10 million dollars in 2013, it rose to 23 million dollars per year for the years 2014 – 2017 and it is certain that the amount will rise even more in 2018. There are more yearly sponsorships with the same tensions to increase. Most of this revenue is distributed among the participating football clubs.

It is not hard to realize that every concerned part in China plays its own boosting role in the efforts of football’s evolution.

China has already made many steps forward to the right direction:

• They eliminated corruption.
• Football has become a part of children’s life at school.
• Top companies have invested in domestic football.
• They are looking to improve the infrastructure, continuously.
• They co-operate with FIFA closely.
• Women’s national squad is notable and this is very important because it is an indicator that football is a social phenomenon. It shows that women are not only familiar with it but they can also present a competitive national squad.
• CSL’s structure is appropriate for domestic evolution.
• Many world class football players have joined the participating clubs, making the CSL more competitive and attractive.
• Important broadcasting deals and sponsorships are established and the way that the revenues will be distributed will be fruitful for CSL – and Chinese football in general – in the upcoming years.

These efforts have already brought results and these results have already created a positive environment for football to evolve. Is this environment enough? Is China ready to present a word class national football squad?

All the above facts, support China’s attempts to become protagonist in football worldwide, but only time will tell. There are already many important football personalities and specialists who predict that China’s next football generation will be ready to fight for the World Cup in 20 years from now.

There is only one threat that could cause serious damage to this target and this is China! If Chinese economy collapses, then it will be almost impossible for China to continue the important investments in football.

Having the opportunity through my previous job, to meet many people from China, to make some of them my friends and to visit their country, I can certainly tell that Chinese people are very enthusiastic and hard-working about anything they do and like. Football? They love it and they believe that playing or watching football is one of the greatest ways to entertain themselves and to get socialized (karaoke is the greatest, for them!). They are also proud people and they like supporting competitive and successful clubs.

For China, football can be more than entertainment and prestige. It is also about power and influence, even political.

• Its massive global popularity provides a costless and effective mean for everyone to express their opinions and stances.
• It is also a way to reflect a country’s society values and ethics.
• It can be even a mean to show to the whole world that they are here to stay not only in sports but in the world’s most crucial issues and critical situations…