Chinese football’s grand plan stalls as Super League shrinks and national team falters | OneFootball

China poured money into football but the project has stalled, the Super League has faded and the national team is still off the pace.

In 2016 a 14-page roadmap by the sports and education ministries and the national federation targeted world power status by 2050. L'Équipe notes that Xi Jinping even envisaged lifting the World Cup by 2049.

A decade on, after lavish deals for Carlos Tevez, Hulk and Oscar, the league’s profile has dipped. Leaders Chengdu Rongcheng were founded in 2018, and 29-year-old Cryzan is valued at only four million euros.

Covid-19 battered property-backed owners, and Guangzhou, Jiangsu Suning and Tianjin Tianhai went under. Foreign salaries are now capped at three million euros gross a year.

Industry figures report a dried up market, wage delays at some clubs and a damaged reputation that deters would-be signings.

Crowds average roughly 25,000 to 30,000, yet competitiveness is questioned. Pedro Delgado and Ibrahim Amadou describe lower intensity and a need for greater tactical and individual rigour.

High domestic wages kept many youngsters at home while Japanese and Korean talents moved to Europe, a difference now laid bare. Wu Lei’s 2019-2022 stint at Espanyol remains a rare exception.

The national side draws almost exclusively from the Super League and finished fifth in its group behind Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, so a sixth straight World Cup will be missed.

Source: L'Équipe