Why China’s goal of football greatness is still a long shot despite renewed focus

Beijing kicks off new push to promote sport beloved by Xi Jinping. But will corruption and money troubles block China’s football ambitions?

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Chinese football fans
celebrate their team’s win against Indonesia at the 2026 Fifa World Cup Asian qualification match in Qingdao, China, on October 15. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 21 Dec 2024Updated: 6:51pm, 21 Dec 2024

At a key meeting on Monday of the State Council, China’s cabinet, officials were urged to “revitalise and develop” the country’s football industry and bring it into a “new phase”.

It was an unexpected agenda item at a meeting, chaired by Premier Li Qiang, that was largely focused on implementing decisions from the Communist Party’s central economic work conference.

This renewed focus on the game – one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s favourite sports – comes as a sweeping anti-corruption investigation has put several high-ranking football officials in prison.

However, observers note that while Xi has driven reforms in the sport, persistent corruption and unsustainable finances have hindered his vision of establishing one of the world’s strongest football teams by 2050.

At an annual football seminar on Monday, Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), called for improvements in practical skills, youth development, and local support to foster Chinese football, the official Soccer News reported.

In the past year, there have been interdepartmental efforts to promote integration of sports and education, dramatic transitions in the professional league, and sentencing in football-related corruption cases, according to the report.

All of these “signal a strong determination to break from past practices” and foster future growth, it said.