Is China Really Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind At The World Cup?

BusinessSportsMoneyIs China Really Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind At The World Cup?BySimon Chadwick ,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Professor of AfroEurasian Sport, geopolitical of sport specialist.Follow AuthorJun 15, 2026, 09:26am EDTSEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JUNE 11: Wang Dalei of China shows dejected after the team's 0-1 defeat in the FIFA World Cup Asian second qualifier Group C match between South Korea and China at Seoul World Cup Stadium on June 11, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)Getty ImagesChina’s national team didn’t qualify to compete in this summer’s men’s World Cup, although it never does.Only once in the tournament’s history, back in 2002, did China qualify; even then, the team exited the tournament quickly and ignominiously after three defeats in three games.It hasn’t always been bad news for the Chinese national team, indeed it ranked 37th in the world back in the late 1990s.Since then, however, its ranking has once plummeted to 109th and, more recently, has stabilised in the 90s.To be fair to China’s players and fans, its women’s team has fared much better; in the early 2000s, it was ranked 4th in the world, and nowadays it regularly occupies a top 20 spot in FIFA’s rankings. A failed football revolutionTen years ago, no doubt acutely aware of the country’s soccer failings, the government embarked on a President Xi Jinping-inspired programme of soccer investment, with the vision of ensuring that China becomes a leading FIFA nation by 2050.The country’s Super League invested huge sums of money in overseas player acquisitions, cities began building soccer infrastructure, and even schools were encouraged to programme soccer classes into their timetables.MORE FOR YOUThere was even talk of China staging the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup; long before Gianni Infantino started cosying up to Donald Trump, the FIFA president regularly visited Beijing to meet with Xi.Since then, a c...