South Korean media: Why has China poured huge investments into football but still failed to qualify for the World Cup?
A article published by South Korean media outlet Chūō Nihon (Japanese edition) states that the reality that population size does not necessarily equate to football strength has once again been proven in this World Cup.
BBC published an article titled "Eight of the Ten Most Populous Countries Failed to Qualify for the World Cup," analyzing reasons why populous nations have underperformed.
Among the top ten most populous countries globally—India, China, the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, and Ethiopia—only the host nation, the United States, and traditional powerhouse Brazil advanced to this tournament. Indonesia and China have each qualified for the World Cup final round only once in history. India, the most populous country in the world, along with Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Ethiopia, have yet to reach the World Cup final stage.
Theoretically, larger populations mean a greater pool of potential talent, increasing opportunities to discover gifted players. However, in practice, this is not always the case.
In fact, among the eight national teams that have won the World Cup in history, except Uruguay, all others—Brazil, Argentina, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—have relatively large populations.
British economist Stefan Szymanski pointed out, "Population is just one of many factors determining success." Mr. Szymanski explained, "Football operates very much like a national economy," and added, "To achieve success, talent is essential—but so are capital and infrastructure, such as training facilities and player development systems." He also emphasized that football DNA—the accumulated experience and expertise over time—is indispensable in guiding the football ecosystem.
The specific reasons why many populous nations have not become football powerhouses vary from country to country. Ethiopia suffers extreme financial shortages, even lacking stadiums to host its domestic league. In India, where cricket is the national sport, public interest in football remains limited, resulting in minimal capital investment.
The most prominent example is China. China is the strongest nation on the Olympic stage, yet in men's football, they have failed to qualify since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Even with this World Cup expanded to include 48 participating nations, China could not overcome the hurdle of the Asian qualifiers.
Mark Dreyer, a journalist who has covered Chinese football for years, stated: "It shouldn't be theoretically impossible for China to develop world-class players," but he noted: "The problem lies in the system being entirely state-controlled." During the 2010s, China invested heavily in bringing star players from Europe and South America to elevate the quality of its league, but these efforts yielded no results. The reason cited was "excessive interference by non-experts, with decision-making power not resting in the hands of football professionals, thereby undermining improvements in football management."
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870038531082244/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.