Ten years from boom to bust, Chinese football in a tailspin

Impact of the global health crisis and China’s pursuit of a zero-COVID strategy, coupled with increasing difficulties within the business sector that bankrolled many of the country’s clubs, has left Chinese football in turmoil

A decade after the splash of Chinese cash first made waves in the global football market, the once racing certainty that China would become a major player in the game looks increasingly like a long-odds gamble.

The decision to relinquish the rights to next year’s Asian Cup finals, which was made by China last weekend citing COVID-19 uncertainties, has left Chinese football facing an uncertain future.

Staging the quadrennial continental championship in nine sparkling new arenas and one rebuilt stadium was supposed to be a stepping stone towards realising President Xi Jinping’s ambition of hosting the World Cup.

That dream now appears to be further away than ever.

The grinding impact of the global health crisis and China’s pursuit of a zero-COVID strategy, coupled with increasing difficulties within the business sector that bankrolled many of the country’s clubs, has left the game in turmoil.

“The gloss has come off Chinese football and sporting ecosystem,” Mark Dreyer of China Sports Insider told Reuters.

“Who would trust China with a World Cup bid given everything we’ve seen in the last two years from the pandemic?