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THE STORY OF CHINESE FOOTBALL

ALTHOUGH THE EACT ORIGINS OF FOOTBALL ARE STILL unclear, the Chinese game of Cuju (or Tsu’ Chu) has been recognised by FIFA as the earliest form of the game, dating back to the 3rd century BC. A wildly popular game at the time, according to their own Ministry of Culture, the game’s historic fanaticism in these specific coordinates of the globe includes the story of a man named Xiangchu dying after playing a game against his doctor’s advice.

Remnants of this passion remain today, with the Chinese Super League ranked ninth worldwide in domestic football league average attendance. Placing ahead of such superpowers as Argentina and Brazil, and other important leagues such as those of Turkey, Russia and Portugal, China is an up-and-comer in the footballing world.

Despite all of this, much like in Samuel Beckett’s play, Godot has still not arrived. Now, however, Chinese football fans are hoping, despite several interrupted dawns, that the circle has been broken and this next act will finally be different.
Chinese Super League: A tale of absurdity

国足解散! THIS WAS THE MESSAGE from fans as the Chinese national team capitulated. This was not the first time the national team had lost, but in some ways, and for many, it was the worst. In June 2013, China were humiliated by Thailand in a 5-1 home loss. “Disband the national team!” As the superpowers of football were getting ready for the final stages of their World Cup qualification campaigns, China had already secured its vacation through the summer of 2014. They were at their lowest ebb, and in mid-2013, countries such as New Caledonia, Haiti and the United Arab Emirates towered over the Chinese Dragons in the rankings.

This was a poor showing for the supposed inventors of football. As a nation spoiled by routine conquers of Olympic gold, this was unacceptable. How can a country as big as China not produce a quality, competitive national team? This widespread sentiment among football enthusiasts has been encapsulated in one illustrative fraction: 11 out of 1.3 billion. How are they not world beaters? Or at the very least, somewhat competitive?

A significant factor in this failure has been the development, or lack thereof, of the Chinese Super League. Although still a budding league, it has already gone through more than most. Mired in scandals of corruption, violence and ineptitude, the Super League has still not grown into the global phenomenon it so desperately wants to be.

Founded in 1994, the Chinese top flight (named Jia-A at that time) was the first professional football league in China, before which the state had only allowed limited involvement of non-state-owned clubs within the semi-professional regional and national leagues. The 1994 season was also the first time the Chinese first division was opened up to foreign investment, and major international organisations such as Philip Morris International and the International Management Group were involved in the inaugural season. Clubs in those early stages were described as “commercial ventures” with “lavish sponsorships from state-owned enterprises (SOEs)”, as an incredible effort was put into introducing the world to Chinese football.

Initial success in terms of marketing and viewing figures were indeed impressive, although some point to the introduction of a five-day work week in China creating an activity gap for millions of people, with football taking full advantage. Attendance in the first season was around 16,000 according to some reports, as more than two million people attended games in the Jia-A. Figures climbed over the coming seasons, as turnout increased by another million overall.

Though increasing amounts of funds were still being pumped into clubs by SOEs in the late ’90s, fans were beginning to lose interest in the league as the novelty factor wore off and lacklustre playing standards remained. Allegations of corruption, drinking and general attitude problems were increasing areas of concern, and league support began to crumble.

By the turn of the century the epidemic spread further, as two club presidents came to admit to bribing referees. While some debated whether football needed protection from the illicit practices of the gambling syndicates Rowan Simons, a Chinese football expert, rather contended that football’s problems were a symptom of its own systemic flaws. Cameron Wilson, another celebrated journalist, has called Chinese football a “microcosm of Chinese society” due to the opaque and gung-ho (incidentally derived from the Chinese term gōnghé) nature of the football market.

The stench of corruption did not subside over the next few years, with fans becoming increasingly disillusioned with the state of affairs, and even sponsors began to withdraw their support in light of scandals. The rebranding of the Jia-A to the Chinese Super League (CSL) did little to restore confidence in Chinese football, and it showed in the stadia as attendances dropped below 11,000. Call for reforms largely fell on deaf ears, and any changes made were purely cosmetic in nature.

An apparent apogee was finally reached in 2008 as China’s state television station, CCTV, pulled Chinese football off the air. In an interview with a local paper the head of CCTV, Jiang Heping, commented that the state of Chinese football “makes everyone feel bitter” and is “in danger of being thoroughly destroyed”. Despite this drastic measure, conditions continued to stagnate and a new low was reached in 2009 when Qingdao Hailifeng FC’s blatant attempts to score an own goal, on their president’s orders, managed to shock even the scandal-jaded Chinese public.