Chinese football – a major new player on the international football scene

In Danish

Anders Kornum Thomassen
Section for Sports Science, Aarhus University


Professional football in China is a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, it is no surprise that Chinese football has yet to establish itself on the international football scene. Even though this is the case, the past two transfer windows have seen Chinese football clubs going on a spending spree like never before. This article looks at many aspects of this development, not least at the economic and political powers—so different from what is common in European football and society—behind the transfers revolution. The study of Chinese economy and politics as they relate to football, and the development within the Chinese football system—more specifically regarding football facilities, youth training and commercial matters—is compared to that of European football. China should have the potential to be an international football superpower, considering the size of the population as well as the economy, and thus the evolution of Chinese football is extremely interesting. And not least because, as you will find after reading this article, the development is of a completely different dimension than anything the football world has ever experienced.


Get the full-text article in Danish!


ANDERS KORNUM THOMASSEN (b. 1993) is a graduate student in Sports Science at Section for Sports Science, Aarhus University.


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