Politics is supposed to stay out of high-level soccer, but nothing could be further from the reality in China. This partly explains why on-field results have suffered. But there are many other problems.
On New Year's Day in 2003, Chinese soccer was at its peak, with the national team coming off its first-ever World Cup appearance and two ascendant stars — Li Tie and Sun Jihai — playing with big-time clubs in England. When Li and Sun's respective teams faced off, it was must-see TV in China.
Peng Shuai, the collapse of Chinese soccer, calls for Olympic boycotts: on one hand, it's been a tumultuous year for China sports. But there have been reasons to celebrate 2021, too, from 14-year-old Quan Hongchan’s diving perfection to the emergence of the country’s No. 1 winter sports star, Eileen Gu, to Zhou Guanyu becoming China’s first F1 driver.
When the next World Cup rolls around — in Qatar next autumn — China will once again be missing. That in itself isn’t shocking, considering China has appeared in only one World Cup and is more accustomed to ignominy during the qualifying process. But what ails Chinese football currently runs much deeper.
Also: China’s 20 golds top the Tokyo Paralympics so far.
The China Sports Column is a The China Project weekly feature. The Tokyo Olympic Games as referendum Make no mistake, the pressure is on this year. After...