For years we have speculated about when China will host a World Cup. In 2030 maybe? Or 2034? Perhaps even 2026 in the (unlikely) event that the United States (or A.N.Other) somehow wrests the endlessly controversial 2022 competition away from Qatar.
Well, here’s a thing: I reckon it could very easily happen in 2019. Not the real thing of course. That is a longer-term project. But, while it is waiting for this ultimate prize, I can very easily see the world’s most populous nation choosing to begin its World Cup-hosting career with the daddy tournament’s club counterpart, the Club World Cup, whose 2015 edition is unfolding as I write at venues in Osaka and Yokohama, Japan.
I have passed comment before on the spectacular sports-market growth some are predicting for China as more of its citizens start leading middle-class lifestyles. Consider now the events of the past week.
On Wednesday it emerged that the internet car arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had agreed an eight-year sponsorship deal – eight years! – for the Club World Cup. This at a time when other potential new sponsors appear to have been giving FIFA a wide berth for very obvious reasons.
Alibaba is represented on the field in Japan as well, in the shape of Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese club it bought 50% of in 2014. Indeed, after beating Mexico’s Club América on Sunday, thanks to a 93rd-minute winner from Paulinho, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfield player, coach Luís Felipe Scolari’s men face the daunting yet exhilarating challenge of a semi-final against mighty Barcelona on Thursday.
If they were enthusiastic about the competition before, imagine what effect that occasion might have on Alibaba founder Jack Ma, his corporate colleagues and several million football-mad Chinese citizens, some of whom are individuals of great influence. It would not be in the least surprising, in my view, if that match, coupled with the new sponsorship didn’t set China off along the path towards becoming Club World Cup hosts in earnest.
As things stand, 2019 is the first such tournament that is available: Japan hosts again next year, while United Arab Emirates were announced last March as hosts of the 2017 and 2018 editions. That still leaves four years of the period covered by that new Alibaba E-auto sponsorship deal.
Admittedly, four days, never mind four years, seems a long time in the history of FIFA at the moment. Weighing up recent developments though, it seems natural to conclude that a future Chinese Club World Cup looks far from a long shot.
A 2019 Club World Cup final pitting the champions of South America against the champions of Europe – or perhaps even China – at Beijing’s magnificent Bird’s Nest Stadium? Stranger things have happened, much stranger.
David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Cup and London 2012. Owen’s Twitter feed can be accessed at www.twitter.com/dodo938.