The Politics of Football in China

In recent years, football has become an important field for institutional change and political steering in China. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has placed football at the centre of its national rejuvenation agenda, seeking to transform the country into a powerful sports nation. However, this ambitious plan has triggered a series of contentious interactions between party-state actors, international and local socio-economic actors, who often have to strike a delicate balance between political expectations, market dynamics and human rights.

The Politics of Football in the People's Republic of China delves into the intricate world of Chinese football politics and offers a comprehensive analysis of how the sport has become a locus for achieving broader social, economic and political goals. The book examines the implications of the Chinese party-state's institutional transformation efforts towards 'top-level design' in this policy field, which aim to centralise and hierarchise policy-making authorities. It also uses detailed case studies to investigate the Chinese party-state's attempts at political steering, including international sport diplomatic interactions as well as interactions with Chinese social and economic actors.

From the spectacular rise and fall of Mesut Özil's popularity in China to the controversial campus football initiatives to nurture future generations, this book explores how the Chinese party-state's governing practices intersect with the global football industry. It critically assesses the successes and failures of the football reforms, the challenges faced by foreign actors engaging with Chinese football, and the evolving nature of the sport as an arena for playing out (geo)political conflicts.

Whether you are interested in Chinese politics, football and sport, or the relationship between sport and politics, this book offers valuable insights into the multifaceted world of Chinese football in the Xi Jinping era.

Ilker Gündo¿an is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Germany. He's also a fellow at the EU*Asia Institute of the ESSCA School of Management, France, and an affiliate researcher at the Centre for EU-Asia Connectivity at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.