China’s long-term soccer plan calls for the country to be a global force in the game by 2050, but if China’s latest football project comes off, it would arguably become a major footballing power long before that.
The plan has been laid out by the Chinese government, backed, of course, by President Xi Jinping, but the latest moves have come from one of the country’s biggest companies – Wanda, whose boss just happens to be China’s richest man.
Details came out earlier this month regarding a new European football league, proposed by Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin, someone who has already backed his country’s soccer drive to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, doubling down on his Infront purchase (which went somewhat awry when the Philippe Blatter to Sepp Blatter connection failed to materialize) by sponsoring FIFA and exploring club investments.
There will always be a certain amount of skepticism greeting any radical new proposal, but the Financial Times quoted a senior official from one of Europe’s big five leagues – namely those in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – as saying that the idea was both “very well planned” and “realistic”.
China Sports Insider’s Mark Dreyer (left) discusses China’s football industry – including Wanda’s proposed new European tournament – with senior executives from CCTV-5, LeSports, the Asian Broadcasting Union, Alisports and Shankai Sports at the World Football Forum in Paris.