Global Impact: bribery, bans, fines, racism and a World Cup exit not a good look for football in China

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world

In this edition, we reflect on China’s women’s team failing to progress from the group stage at the Women’s World Cup, and also wraps up an interesting few days of football in China

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Published: 12:00pm, 10 Aug 2023

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Chinese football is in a mess, on the pitch and off it. From corruption that stretches from youth games in Guangdong to the highest levels of the country’s governing body, to clubs collapsing financially, and teams failing to compete regionally or beyond.

On Wednesday alone, ex-national team coach Li Tie was formally charged with several counts of suspected bribery, a team manager in the second tier was banned for eight months for slapping a referee, and a player in the Chinese Super League with a spotless disciplinary record was handed a four-game ban and fined 40,000 yuan (US$5,500)

for punching an opponent he claims racially abused him. The opposition player was handed a two-game ban and a smaller fine.

All of this came less than 24 hours after the women’s team were unceremoniously dumped out of the World Cup following a 6-1 mauling by England that reduced star Wang Shuang to tears and had her emotionally proclaiming that she and her teammates were “not particularly good role models”.

On the face of it, the team’s failure to reach the last 16 of the tournament for the first time, while shocking, was not all that surprising, especially given that they were placed in Group D alongside Denmark and England, two of the better teams globally.