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China sets sights on 2030 WCup
A TOP Chinese football official has urged FIFA to realize the “dream” of China’s fans by bringing the World Cup to the giant Asian nation in 2030 — or even sooner.
Chinese Football Association vice president Zhang Jian said FIFA’s rotation policy probably ruled out a return to Asia in 2026, after Qatar hosts the World Cup in 2022.
Zhang said that “it’s not very easy” for China to hold the World Cup in 2026. But he said the final decision was up to world body FIFA.
“Every Chinese football fan has a dream — to host a World Cup in China,” Zhang said in Goa, India, where an Asian Football Confederation extraordinary congress was aborted on Tuesday.
“According to their charter it’s not very easy for us to get 2026... I, of course, hope it can be here sooner, but FIFA has their charter and we follow their decisions,” he added.
Russia will host the next World Cup in 2018, before Qatar in 2022, with China, the world’s most populous nation and second biggest economy, keen to follow soon after.
Hosting the World Cup looks far more realistic than winning the competition, as China’s sole appearance in 2002 ended without a single point or even a goal.
China’s national team is currently ranked 78th, sandwiched between St Kitts and Nevis and Guatemala, although it is still in the running to reach Russia 2018.
Zhang could be in line for a powerful voice in FIFA as he is standing for a seat on the body’s new council, which has replaced the scandal-prone executive committee.
The AFC aborted elections to the council on Tuesday in protest at FIFA’s decision to bar a Qatari candidate. A reorganized poll is expected early next year.
Chinese football has made huge strides in recent years owing to the rise of its domestic league, whose lavishly financed clubs are attracting top players and managers.
Chinese Super League clubs have spent just over 400 million euros (US$447 million) on players this year.
Zhang said the CSL now wanted to reach the level of the top divisions of Europe and was also confident that China’s growing legion of foreign players would help the national team, rather than hinder the development of home-grown talent.
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