Why is China not in the World Cup?

2. THE PIPELINE – need to find young stars and put them on club teams where scouts can find them.  Most of the players in the world cup were already on some sort of organized team by the age of 16.

[x] China – Yes, has the CSL (formerly Jia-A) and started in 1994.

[ ] India – No, it’s professional soccer league only just started 5 years ago.

[x] USA – Yes, has the MLS which started in 1996.

[ ] Indonesia – No, it’s professional soccer league just folded in 2013.

[ ] Pakistan – No, it’s pro league only started less than 10 years ago.

3. INFRASTRUCTURE – A country needs soccer fields for kids to play in and practice.  A country needs stadiums to support a pro league.

[x] China – Yes, China obviously has state-of-the art stadiums to host soccer games.  Do high schools in china have soccer fields?

[ ] India – Not really, its cricket fields can not easily converted to soccer fields.

[x] USA – Yes, USA has build 8 soccer-specific stadiums for its teams since MLS started.  Most highschools have soccer fields.

[x] Indonesia – Yes, they had a professional league with 16 teams.

[ ] Pakistan – No, same reason as India.

4. CLIMATE – Elite soccer nations have weather between 50-70 degrees year round.  Countries with hot or humid weather makes it difficult for players to be fast.  Countries in hot/humid weather play games with are a slower controlled pace.  Cold/windy weather produces faster and bigger physical players.

[x] China – Yes, China is vast country with various climates.

[ ] India – No, it’s climate is mostly hot and humid.

[x] USA – Yes, has idea weather in most parts of the country.

[ ] Indonesia – No, too humid

[ ] Pakistan – No, too hot.

5. KNOW HOW – An elite soccer country needs to have knowledgeable coaches, scouts who will find young stars and fans.

[x] China – Yes, soccer is the most popular team sport in China.  The fans do watch and gamble on the game.

[ ] India – No, soccer is no where as popular as cricket.

[x] USA – Yes, soccer is play by many young participants.

[x] Indonesia – Yes, most popular sport in the country.

[ ] Pakistan – No, same as India

6. CULTURAL EXCHANGE – Elite soccer nations are the ones exporting players or importing players and coaches.  Spain import top players to their league.  Netherlands exports alot of their players to other leagues in Europe. France imports and exports players.

[x] China – Yes, the country has imported coaches from other countries and had had some players in European leagues.

[ ] India – No

[x] USA – Yes, MLS had sign David Beckham to its league and currently has several big-name international players in the league.

[ ] Indonesia – No

[ ] Pakistan – No

7. GDP – A country with a big economy means more sponsors and have the money to attract international coaches.  However, a poor country does not necessarily mean less competitive players.  For example,  Brazilians and Argentineans are mostly in poverty.  But, a country also needs a few wealthy people to fund the game – while the rest of the citizens provide manpower.

[x] China – Yes, China is the 2nd largest economy. there are chinese with money who have spent big money to improve chinese soccer.

[x] India – Yes, India has a big economy too, but most of the money is spent on Cricket.

[x] USA – Yes, USA  is the biggest economy. some of the pro soccer teams are own by NFL owners.

[ ] Indonesia – No, its own professional soccer league just folded due to not enough funds.

[x] Pakistan – Yes, its economy is big enough to support an elite soccer team.

8. OPPORTUNITY – Will a country with high percentage of middle class (college degrees) choose soccer or education?  Are there competition from other sports?

[x] China – Yes, soccer is the most popular sport in the country.  There are still many citizens in poverty where playing soccer would be beneficial.

[x] India – Yes, India was once a powerhouse in Asia during the 1960s.  But since, Cricket and Field hockey has taken over in popularity

[ ] USA – No, too much competition from other sports like Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey.  The best athletes in USA are playing these sports.

[ ] Indonesia – No, sports in general is not popular in Indonesia

[ ] Pakistan – No, cricket is most popular

CONCLUSION:

China has all the traits needed to be an elite soccer nation.   The Chinese women soccer team proves this.  A decade ago the chinese women would consistently rank in the top 5 in the world.   But for some reason, the Chinese men lag far behind from other men.

I can not explain why.  Is it because the communists force them to play a sport they don’t love?   Is it because chinese men are pansies?  Is it because chinese men are too short?   I don’t think these are true, that is why it boggles my mind that Chinese Men National Team can’t even quality for a World Cup or even be in the top 5 in Asia.

China is ranked #12 in Asia… and even ranked below OMAN, PALESTINE, QATAR!!!!   Its gotta be embarrassing.