Much like in the economic realm, we are beginning to see a rise in the football culture of the Pacific Rim countries, and specifically in China. Given, the country is still a long way off from challenging the value of teams and quality of play in, say, the English Premier League, but improvements have been made that should pay big, or even enormous, dividends in the future.
First and foremost, improvement begins with investment. China, in the midst of a plan to create a domestic sports economy worth USD 850 billion by 2025 and to become a “world football superpower” by 2050, is investing heavily in football development, including: producing over 100,000 professional domestic players and 50 million children and adults playing on amateur basis; creating 20,000 football schools; and constructing 70,000 pitches by 2020. Furthermore, China’s national football association wants one pitch for every 10,000 people by 2030.
And while China is interested in football, beyond simply having the facilities, resources, and a giant fan base, a league and a national team will never improve unless properly coached and having the opportunity to play with and against talented players. Starting with transfers, though the Chinese Super League spent USD 422 million last year (making the league the biggest spender among the world’s major leagues), this substantial sum is slightly less than the USD 451 million they spent in 2016 – including the most expensive transfer for USD 67 million of the Brazilian midfield player Oscar from Chelsea – which represented a 785% increase in incoming transfer spending since 2012.
Aside from the players, the Chinese Super League has also been adept at importing coaches – entering the 2017 season, coaches included the likes of Luiz Felipe Scolari, Felix Magath, Andre Villas-Boas, and Fabio Cannavaro, along with the import of top dietitians, technical experts, and etc.
The regional rise of the game resulted in the property and cinema giant Wanda Group becoming, in 2016, the first Chinese company to sign up as a FIFA Partner and get prime sponsorship rights for all FIFA events, including four World Cups, until 2030. And the World Cup is, indeed, the event to land at, with China having the largest global audience share during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 252.3 million Chinese viewers, or 18.1 percent of the total population.
Naturally, Wanda‘s direct sponsorship strengthens China’s positions in the bidding process to host major football events, including a World Cup.
Wanda Group went further, becoming the first mainland Chinese company to invest in a top European club, buying a 20% share in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid, followed by other Chinese brands and investors who have used football as a catalyst for growth in the last couple of years by purchasing assets rounding up to a USD 2.5 billion spending on European players and clubs (just to mention the 100% ownership of Aston Villa and 80% of Southampton by Chinese tycoons).
The buying spree led to a series of government controls designed to curb debt-fuelled foreign acquisitions, with Wanda Group becoming the first Chinese investor to divest his stake in a European football club (February, 2018). The CSL has since implemented further taxes and restrictions on the import and use of foreign players.
As a result of the Chinese government capital controls and in accordance with the Chinese national policy, Chinese businessmen and state-controlled companies are now shifting their investments from oversees assets to the development of national football facilities and national talent and fans might soon witness China not only hosting a World Cup but even coming out as THE winner.
