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Importing the World Cup Posted by on Jun 14, 2010 in Uncategorized

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.

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About the Author: Stephen

Writer and blogger for all things China related. Follow me on twitter: @seeitbelieveit -- My Background: Fluent Mandarin speaker with 3+ years working, living, studying and teaching throughout the mainland. Student of Kung Fu and avid photographer and documentarian.


Comments:

  1. Nathan:

    I used to believe that basket is more popular than football however
    Every Mandarin speaking person i have asked has said that football is more popular
    than basketball. This could be because the world cup is now on or because the
    mandarin speaking person was speaking to a brit and not to an American.

    I hope china will improve their football because i have a soft spot for asian teams like
    japan and south korea. After watching 20 years of swearing and shouting at the ref,
    it is nice to see teams just accepting the ref’s call and getting on with the game.

    From a Mandarin learning student i think the commentery is very easy to follow because
    you only need to know “Hao qiu ” to watch the game.

    • Steve:

      @Nathan Hey Nathan,

      My British friends have said a similar thing, while Americans generally here only basketball talk…so maybe it’s in the eye of the beholder, or maybe it’s how Chinese people relate. Considering that the UK arguably has the best Professional/Club play, while the NBA is clearly the best basketball league lots of times it comes down to superstar appeal.

      There was a good editorial piece on why China is lacking in world cup appearances and professional quality/superstars here. Check it out.

      -Steve


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