Earlier this year, China and Germany established a high-level football partnership, at the center of which China’s U20 national team was to play a series of games against teams in Germany’s south-west. But a Tibetan protest at the very first game has left the entire cooperation in tatters – and could have ramifications for China’s wider sporting ambitions.
Last month, six people displaying a grand total of four flags staged a protest at a football match in Germany that was attended by about 400 people. On the surface, it was hardly an earth-shattering event. But anything involving the “Tibet issue” is magnified exponentially in China and the dust from that day is still settling.
Firstly, here’s the background…
Since March 2015, China has been seeking to reform its soccer industry from top to bottom, all with the aim of improving the rankings of its men’s and women’s national teams. As a result, China had reached out to just about every major footballing nation, with FAs around the world licking their lips at the thought of becoming China’s premier partner.
However, given Germany’s outstanding record in international competition – a top-three finish in each of its last seven European Championships and World Cups – it should come as no surprise that Germany came out on top in this unofficial bidding process.