Why China is becoming a quite a possibility for top footballers

The state wants the game to grow

President Xi Jinping on his visit to the Manchester City training camp in 2015

The amount of support the league has been getting from the government has been phenomenal. It surely looks like China have their eye on hosting a World Cup in the near future.

In 2015, the television rights for the CSL went for an astounding $1.25million for the subsequent five years. That deal was revamped earlier this year to 11 billion yuan until 2025.

China are currently ranked 70 (as of Feb 2018) in the FIFA World Rankings and have only qualified for one FIFA World Cup which was in 2002. They have also failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but this does not stop them from making an attempt to become a football powerhouse in the world.

President Xi Jinping has been keen on investing in sectors which are more sports and entertainment oriented. Their attempt to make a balanced economy with industries which are much more than manufacturing sectors has also made a major impact on the global football map.