Index on Censorship Index on Censorship
The World Cup in Qatar and the 20th National Party Congress in Beijing are near coinciding this autumn. Legend holds that a young Xi was angry at the humiliation inflicted on the Chinese national team by English club Watford at an exhibition game in 1983. He declared shortly before assuming power that China would host and win the World Cups. In his first term Xi put football reform and development squarely on national political agenda through three major policy documents promulgated between 2014 and 2016. The long-term objective was to transform China into a world class football nation by 2050.
Jonathan Sullivan is a Chinese specialist and an associate professor at the University of Nottingham.
This article appears in the autumn 2022 issue of Index on Censorship.
