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Opinion
To achieve its football goals, scandal-hit China can learn from Japan
- From its 1991 low point, Japan has rebuild its local league, focusing on clean governance, youth development and a long-term vision: World Cup victory by 2092
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Chee Yik-wai is a Malaysia-based intercultural specialist, a serial social entreprenur who co-founded Crowdsukan focusing on sport for good.
Plagued by corruption and unpaid wages scandals, China’s football scene hit a new low recently as fans withdrew their support after the national team’s embarrassing draw against a much lower-ranked Malaysia in a friendly game. Clearly, reforms are needed if China is to keep its 2026 World Cup dream alive – after failing to qualify for more than 20 years.
The focus so far has been on ridding the sport of corruption with little attention paid to how China’s football performance can be improved. Partnerships, including the high-profile 2016 deal with Germany, have clearly yielded little and the effectiveness of coaches from Argentina, announced last year, remains unknown.
By contrast, neighbouring Japan and South Korea recorded impressive results in the Qatar World Cup last year. In particular, Japan, the top-ranking Asian football nation, has beaten two former World Cup champions: Spain (in the World Cup) and Germany (in a friendly). Many Chinese wonder why Chinese football has fallen so far behind. Perhaps the Japanese experience can offer lessons.
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