China looks past Covid-19 crisis to sets sights on football World Cup

As the country emerged from a lockdown to fight the coronavirus, Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Guangzhou Evergrande began work on a one billion euro new home which will accommodate 100,000 spectators when it is completed at the end of 2022.

The lotus flower-shaped arena, designed by the Shanghai-based American architect Hasan Syed, will be the biggest football stadium in the world until Barcelona’s Camp Nou is revamped.

The Evergrande Group, the property developer which bankrolls the club, says it intends to build three more stadiums which will house 80,000 people.

String of events

Last June, China won the right to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

The capital Beijing and nine other cities have been anointed to stage the 51 games during the month-long tournament.

China will also be the venue for the Fifa Club World Cup. The competition was scheduled for eight cities in June and July of 2021 but it was postponed after the rescheduling of the European Championships and Copa América due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Guangzhou was not initially on the agenda for either of the tournaments, leading critics to question the sense of a 100,000 seater stadium at a club that averages about 50,000 for home matches.

Making a statement

"I think Evergrande may have two considerations," said Oriental Sports Daily writer Ji Yuyang. "First, a 100,000-seat stadium might come in handy if China hosts a World Cup final or opening ceremony.

"Another point is that Evergrande will be able to make a statement by saying that they have the largest professional football stadium in the world."

Evergrande’s eventual boast is likely to find favour with the political hierarchy. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is an avowed football fan.

An improved infrastructure would pave the way for a tilt at hosting the World Cup in 2030. "I think China's desire to is very clear," added Ji. “It is a matter of when, not if, China bids.”

Hosting the World Cup would be expedient. China declined to participate in competition from its inception in 1930 until 1954. It played qualifiers for the 1958 tournament but failed to progress. 

'Drive for domination'

Chinese squads then shunned the next five events. But from 1982, they have attempted to qualify and eventually managed to advance to the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

China's record in the Asian Cup is moderate. After snubbing the first five editions, they have featured ever since 1976. A runners-up spot in 2004 on home soil has been the sole highlight.

However, the building blitz could signal a concerted drive for domination.

"There's something about the iconography and symbolism of the stadiums, particularly the Guangzhou development," said Simon Chadwick, director of the Centre for the Eurasian Sport Industry at Emlyon Business School in Paris

“The rush on new stadiums sends a message that China is developing and becoming healthier and stronger."

Xi says he wants China to become a leading football nation within 30 years. As part of the grand scheme, Chinese investors have sunk money into clubs such as AC Milan and Inter Milan in Italy as well as Atletico Madrid in Spain and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England. 

Foreign players have also been lured to China with lucrative contracts to help improve the standards in domestic leagues.

“Guanhzhou is a huge stadium, incredibly striking design, added Chadwick. “Pictures of it have been carried across the world and people are commenting on it.

"It's almost the soft power of stadiums. China is trying to use these hugely distinctive stadium designs as a way of attracting people and attention, of getting people to understand that China wants the same things that other countries want.”