Why China’s football goal is still a long shot despite renewed focus on the sport

At a key meeting on Monday of the State Council, China’s cabinet, officials were urged to “revitalise and develop” the country’s football industry and bring it into a “new phase”.

This renewed focus on the game – one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s favourite sports – comes as a sweeping anti-corruption

investigation has put several high-ranking football officials in prison.

However, observers note that while Xi has driven reforms in the sport, persistent corruption and unsustainable finances have hindered his vision of establishing one of the world’s strongest football teams by 2050.

In the past year, there have been interdepartmental efforts to promote integration of sports and education, dramatic transitions in the professional league, and sentencing in football-related corruption cases, according to the report.

All of these “signal a strong determination to break from past practices” and foster future growth, it said.