Despite the national team’s strong performance, encouraging signs are starting to appear for China’s longtime soccer fans Once again we missed out on qualifying for the World Cup. and the continued struggles of top clubs in Asian competition.
On the domestic front, the 2025 season showed some positive signs.
The Chinese Super League concludes on Saturday. If Shanghai Port, coached by former Australian representative Kevin Muscat, can force a draw in their match against Dalian, they can retain their title. Otherwise, city rivals Shanghai Shenhua, who sit in second place with a two-point difference from Port, could have the advantage.
More than 60,000 fans are expected to finish the season in Dalian, which averaged around 26,000, the highest of any Asian top flight and higher than a decade ago, when Chinese clubs were spending record sums on world-famous stars such as Oscar Tevez and Brazilian Hulk. oscarCoaches such as , etc. Marcello Lippi, Sven-Goran Erikssonand Manuel Pellegrini.
Currently, there are no international superstars in China’s top league, and no clubs that can challenge for continental honors. In recent years, Chinese soccer has made international headlines, mostly for club matches. Bankruptcy due to financial pressure.
However, the love for the sport remains.
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“There is no doubt that there are still passionate soccer fans in China, and the passion of some has not diminished by the hardships of the past decade,” Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian sports at France’s Emlyon Business School, told The Associated Press.
Chadwick doubts whether the current excitement can be sustained, but remains optimistic.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the seeds of a new football era are beginning to emerge in China,” he said.
The revival is not limited to professional soccer. Amateur regional leagues are becoming popular all over the country. The first was founded in Jiangsu province, which has a population of approximately 80 million people, but lost its CSL club when Jiangsu FC ceased operations in 2021.
The Jiangsu Football City League, which includes 13 teams from across Jiangsu province, was launched in May and has been a huge success. The teams were made up of local residents and students, and the average number of participants reached nearly 30,000.
The final was held on November 1 in the provincial capital Nanjing in front of 62,000 fans, a record for Chinese amateur sports. According to reports, after the Taizhou team won the title, there were more than 2 million ticket applications online and there were widespread celebrations in Taizhou.
Taizhou City coach Chou Gaoping, the only female coach in the league, posted a message on social media saying, “Through this league, we can rediscover the true meaning and essence of soccer, which goes beyond winning and losing.” “I hope we can break through the fog and usher in a new dawn for Chinese football.”
Following the success of the Jiangsu tournament, regional leagues were also launched in several other provinces. This bottom-up, community-focused approach to growing the sport is in sharp contrast to previous top-down attempts by politicians and national organizations.
“Rather than being imposed by the government or fast-tracked by financial investors, this time the growth of Chinese football appears to be more organic, community-focused, and driven by people with a genuine love for football,” Chadwick said.
Taizhou City is already recruiting players for the 2026 season and is reportedly receiving a flood of applications.
China’s men’s national team may not take part in next year’s World Cup, but if trends continue, one of the world’s most populous countries could become more active in soccer than ever before.
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