"The imagined community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people"
- Eric Hobsbawm
Which sport can cause a war between nations such as El Salvador and Honduras?
Which sport made Germany's ex Chancellor Gerhard Schröder cry after he watched the film ‘The Miracle of Berne’?
Which sports can cause spontaneous celebrations in major international tournaments and offer hope to millions?
Football (soccer*) of course!
The game is loved the world over. It is the game of the people. From South America to Europe to Africa to the Middle East to Asia, people are passionate about the beautiful game. To play all you need is a ball and some empty space and sometimes you don’t even need a ball.
"It's not just a simple game. It's a weapon of the revolution"
- Che Guevara
It is the most egalitarian of sports. You can be tall, short, fat, thin, male, female, rich or poor; regardless, you can still play and be part of a team. Through football, strangers can be friends simply by talking about their favourite teams.
"All that I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football"
- Albert Camus
Supporting your local team builds a sense of family and belonging. Week in and week out, win or lose, you can forget your problems for a few hours as you share a common goal with thousands of strangers in a stadium. The pure simplicity of football and sense of community makes the game universally popular. Except in China!
The Beijing Olympics came and went and the home nation won loads of medals but football is floundering in the world’s most populated nation. From qualifying for the 2002 World Cup and reaching the 2004 Asian Cup final, popularity has plunged. The problems for the men’s team are endemic and leads to a love hate relationship for the fans:
- A poor 2008 Olympics for the China men’s team.
- Failure to reach the 2006 world cup finals.
- Crashing out of the 2010 world cup before the final Asian qualification stages.
- Rising corruption, mismanagement and violence means all potential talent is lost.
- Top domestic league games no longer broadcast on national TV due to the unprofessional conduct of some players.
- Over-inflated wages of certain players means the hunger for success is lost.
There is a deep passion for football in China but passion does not mean trophies. With the nation’s growing wealth and large population, the potential is endless but never reached. There is hope on the horizon. Aside from the consistently successful China Women's national team, there are others who want to help salvage the game.
Two idealistic men, Keith Bradbury and Rowan Simons have taken up the challenge to help restore Chinese football from the bottom up. Both have made Beijing their home and speak fluent Mandarin. They run China ClubFootball, a business venture that looks to inspire, educate and revitalise the game in China. China ClubFootball is returning the game to its amateur roots and bringing the game back to its most important factor; the people!
"Football is a part of I! When I play the world wakes up around me."
- Bob Marley
Through their range of activities such as football training, regular league games, interactive websites and community work, Club Football's drive is to make fans in China feel truly part of the global football family.
As the government are so involved in sports, a generic sports culture is still in the evolution stage. Sports’ is only beginning to be seen as leisure by some people! It is all understandable, given China’s tumultuous history, surviving with food on the table and not a tennis first serve percentage was more important!
Now that China’s first generation of Little Emperors (children born under the one child policy) have all grown up and have more disposable incomes and leisure time, a new sporting culture is developing. The Beijing Olympics have accelerated its growth and with true sporting superstars emerging such as:
- Hurdler Liu Xiang
- Basketballers stars Yao Ming (HOUSTON ROCKETS), Sun Yue (LA LAKERS) and Yi Jianlian (New Jersey Nets)
- Tennis players such as Jie Zheng
These role models with their international recognition, media coverage and financial success are showing Chinese and Asian teens the way forward and proving that careers can be made in sports. Their impact has seen more and more Chinese teenagers balancing their studies with sports so creating a new sub sporting culture.
 Regardless, any sport is good for:
- Making Friends
- Building Self Esteem
- Discipline
- Fitness
- A sense of community amongst team mates
Anyone who loves Beijing, amateur sports and football know that organizations such as China Club Football have their best interests at heart. Long may it continue!
*The word soccer is derived from the ‘Soc’ from the term Association Football.
Interview with Rowan Simons, author of Bamboo goalposts
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