China’s national team is ranked a lowly 81st in the world.
The Chinese domestic league had been steadily growing by the time President Xi Jinping took office in 2012 and increasing attention was paid to past comments he had made declaring his vision of China becoming a football superpower.
The focus on his remarks is cited as encouraging lavish spending on foreign talent by the big businesses that own Chinese Super League teams as well as ramped-up investment in grassroots development.
Hoping to fan interest in Chinese football — and to please Xi — top teams sought to outdo each other with foreign player signings, especially in the past few years.
Last month Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder, Oscar dos Santos, confirmed a record-breaking move to Shanghai SIPG worth a reported €60-million (around $63-million) — the fifth time in a year the Asian football transfer record was broken.
Argentina’s Carlos Tevez and Brazilians Hulk and Alex Teixeira have also been lured by eye-watering sums. Tevez is headed to Shanghai Shenhua for a reported €38-million a season, which would make the 32-year-old the highest-earning footballer in the world — even more than compatriot Lionel Messi and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Facing slowing economic growth, China’s government has recently been trying to stem capital flight and what it describes as reckless spending. In that context, the stunning transfer price tags were practically inviting a crackdown.
On January 6, the sports ministry warned it would take action against teams that shell out “irrational” sums. This week the Chinese Football Association went a step further, cutting the number of foreign players that top-flight teams could field from four to no more than three a match for the 2017 season, which starts in March.
Since the sports ministry’s edict, only one major foreign signing has taken place: Tianjin TEDA snagged Chelsea’s Nigerian midfielder, John Obi Mikel, for about €8.5-million, transfermarketweb.com reported.
Shu Yuhui, the chairman of Super League side Tianjin Quanjian, told state media this week the clampdown had scuppered his team’s plans to buy Chelsea’s Spanish striker, Diego Costa, and a host of other Europe-based stars.
The Chinese public appears to be supportive of the new curbs, with hopes that more money will flow into developing the skill level of Chinese players. China’s national team is ranked a lowly 81st in the world, just behind Saint Kitts and Nevis with its population of about 50 000 compared with China’s 1.3-billion.
But some fans say the cutbacks will prevent domestic footballers from learning from foreign talent and force them to endure boring play as they await the emergence of worldclass Chinese football. — AFP