While there is no doubt that basketball is the most popular sport in China, football/soccer 足球, zú qiú (literally foot + ball) is a distant second, especially among younger audiences. While played less frequently than basketball among amateurs, football is a massive spectator sport in China. Like basketball, football is a basic sport requiring only a field, a ball and some 朋友s to play with. Football matches are regularly broadcast on radio and television within the mainland and are followed with overwhelming national pride.

Unfortunately for Chinese football fans, the level of play among both the Chinese national team, and among the Chinese Football League (Jia A and Jia B leagues) is rather poor. The Jia A and B leagues are ranked among the world’s worst as many of China’s best players have defected to European leagues. The Chinese national team, who’s only appearance was in the 2002 World Cup, were unable to score a single goal, and lost every match they played in. They are currently ranked 85th among the World, and will not play in this World Cup.

Sure, many mainlanders are disappointed with China’s lack of soccer superiority, and understandably so. In a nation of 1.4 billion, with ping pong and basketball as the only other sporting mainstays, you’d expect China to dominate the game, much like they dominated the Olympics. But what many experts say is missing from China’s football program, is the culture of the game, namely under a Euro-centric model. China’s star players are extremely fast, well conditioned and play with a great team mentality (sound familiar–US team), but are lacking in ball handling skills, creativity and ability to play through pressure. That’s no easy task when the eyes of 300 million are fixed on you.

But like I mentioned before, football is a huge spectator sport in China, with many of the games being watched by Chinese audiences 观众 (guānzhòng) coming from foreign leagues. Ask almost anyone in China, who their favorite football player is and odds are they’ll name a premier league or Euro league player, such as Ronaldo, Messi, etc… Very seldom will you hear a fan say their favorite player is Li WeiFeng or any other Chinese player. If you ask them who their favorite club team is, odds are it will be Real Madrid, Man. U, Chelsea or any other euro-league team with superstar players.

But like all high end goods brought to China, football, its stars and the World Cup have evolved as cultural imports into the mainland 大陆 (dàlù). Without having a national team participating in the 2010 World Cup, China still wakes up ridiculously early or stays up late just to see the biggest sporting event on Earth take shape. It’s not ideal for a nation desperate to perform on the world stage, but it is very telling about the direction that China is moving in as it continues to develop as a global 全球 (quánqiú) leader.