https://www.scmp.com/rss/326734/feed The 2018 Gree China Cup International Football Championship is the second edition of the China Cup. It was held in March 2018 in Nanning, Guangxi. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wuhan Zall are fighting for survival in the Chinese Super League (CSL), desperate to avoid a heartbreaking end to a year that began with them stranded outside their coronavirus-scarred city. The football club from ground zero of the pandemic are embroiled in a relegation dogfight after going eight matches without a victory in the virus-shortened season. Wuhan, who finished sixth of the 16 clubs last year, have collapsed after a promising start and must now beat Qingdao Huanghai over two legs.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3107414/wuhan-zall-csl-team-coronavirus-epicentre-hurtle-towards-cruel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3107414/wuhan-zall-csl-team-coronavirus-epicentre-hurtle-towards-cruel?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Oct 2020 07:58:28 +0000 When the China Cup was announced to the world in 2016 the headlines were of bringing the biggest names in the game to China for local fans to see in the flesh and making sure that the national team improve. Wanda Group boss Wang Jianlin, who launched the tournament, saw his sentiments echoed by the vice president of the Chinese Football Association Yu Hongchen, who said that they were “duty bound ... to vigorously develop Chinese football”. So, two tournaments in, has the China Cup met its... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2139103/despite-woeful-performance-hosts-china-cup-huge-success-and-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2139103/despite-woeful-performance-hosts-china-cup-huge-success-and-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Mar 2018 07:30:35 +0000 The Chinese Football Association became targets of the countries fans yet again after reports emerged saying tattoos were banned among national team players. During the opening China Cupmatch against tourists Wales, Chinese players had clearly covered their tattoos using bandages during the 6-0 humiliation in Nanning, including strikers Gao Lin and Wei Shihao and midfielder He Chao. A report by Titan Sports soccer reporter Xiao Liangzhi said he learned from reliable sources inside the Football... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138920/online-football-fans-react-tattoos-suddenly-become-taboo-china-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138920/online-football-fans-react-tattoos-suddenly-become-taboo-china-national?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Mar 2018 07:15:14 +0000 Reports have emerged that the Chinese Football Association has moved to curb the trend of players getting tattoos by banning them from exhibiting their skin art while playing. The news, reported by Chinese media on Sunday, followed on from the China Cup opener last Friday where national team players such as Zhang Lingpeng were covered with tape in order to obscure their tattoos. This will be applied in the Chinese Super League and for national team matches, and it is suggested that players may... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138864/tatts-your-lot-chinese-football-association-bans-players-showing-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138864/tatts-your-lot-chinese-football-association-bans-players-showing-their?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Mar 2018 02:53:18 +0000 Barring something remarkable, Wales can consider themselves the winners ­­whatever happens in the final of the China Cup in Nanning on Monday night – as much off the pitch as on. Yes, a first trophy under Ryan Giggs would be the ideal way to finish the tournament but either way the Welsh FA (FAW) have delivered and been rewarded. The deal to spend the international break in Nanning was reported to be worth £1 million (HK$11 million) to the Welsh, with £100,000 of that contingent on Gareth Bale... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138831/one-million-reasons-wales-are-winners-china-cup-whatever-happens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138831/one-million-reasons-wales-are-winners-china-cup-whatever-happens?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Mar 2018 00:02:14 +0000 Buying a ticket for a football match from a tout in China is a uniquely China experience. Where in Western countries it is the preserve of some of society’s naughtier elements who talk of tickets in terms of “briefs” and “sheets” and other such slang that are swapped for “readies”, “monkeys” or a “pony”, that’s not usually the case outside Chinese football grounds. Ordinarily, the local elderly population seems to be the conduit between the ticket office and the ticketless football fan, with... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138681/nanning-touts-cut-different-cloth-leather-clad-rascals-replace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138681/nanning-touts-cut-different-cloth-leather-clad-rascals-replace?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:03:58 +0000 It was a chastening night for Marcello Lippi’s China team as they fell 6-0 to Wales in Nanning. Here’s what we learned. 1. China’s sixth richest man can’t turn everything to gold Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin was greeted with cheerleaders as he left one of his five star hotels to head to the football tournament he set up but by the final whistle of Wales vs China he must have wondered why he bothered ­­– and not for the first time this season. After selling his stake in Atletico Madrid earlier... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138667/no-seats-or-beer-fans-proves-china-are-miles-hosting-world-cup-bale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138667/no-seats-or-beer-fans-proves-china-are-miles-hosting-world-cup-bale?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Mar 2018 10:54:07 +0000 Fans and media together lambasted the China national team accusing them of losing face after a huge defeat against Wales in front of their home crowd in the China Cup in Nanning, Guangxi on Thursday night. Wuhan Evening News said the visitors did not spare the home team any face by scoring six goals. “During a practice session prior to the match, one of the Chinese coaches asked the defenders who would mark Gareth Bale in the match,” the newspaper said. “No one answered and the players just... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138635/fans-and-media-slam-china-national-team-after-capitulation-against-wales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138635/fans-and-media-slam-china-national-team-after-capitulation-against-wales?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Mar 2018 09:15:12 +0000 China boss Marcello Lippi declared himself “disappointed” after witnessing his Chinese revolution spectacularly derailed on a grim night for the national team in Nanning but accepted some of the blame for the mauling. The Italian has made solid progress with his limited squad since taking over 17 months ago, but handed arguably the stiffest test of his tenure, his charges choked on the big stage and were humiliated 6-0 in front of a capacity home crowd in their opening match of the 2018 China... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138538/china-boss-marcello-lippi-admits-making-mistakes-following-his-teams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2138538/china-boss-marcello-lippi-admits-making-mistakes-following-his-teams?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Mar 2018 02:34:21 +0000 Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is in Nanning with his Wales teammates for the China Cup where they will take on the hosts in the opening game tonight and there was evidence of the star’s status among Chinese fans with a video of him arriving in the country. The side’s star player arrived from Spain on his own and the video of him getting off the plane has gone viral on Chinese social media networks such as WeChat thanks to someone greeting him with shouts of “Beckhamu”, David Beckham’s Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138348/becks-appeal-gareth-bales-china-cup-arrival-goes-viral-chinese-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2138348/becks-appeal-gareth-bales-china-cup-arrival-goes-viral-chinese-social?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Mar 2018 04:30:45 +0000 The China Cup offers Wales midfielder Gareth Bale the perfect opportunity to get some minutes under his belt as he tries to put a run of games together in another season blighted by injury, manager Ryan Giggs has said. Wales face China in Nanning on March 22 while Uruguay meet Czech Republic the following day. Giggs’s side play again three days later, either in the final or the third-place play-off. “All players that go out are preparing for playing both games,” Giggs told British media. “There... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2137532/gareth-bale-will-get-valuable-playing-time-china-says-wales-boss-ryan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2137532/gareth-bale-will-get-valuable-playing-time-china-says-wales-boss-ryan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Mar 2018 09:00:45 +0000 Iceland reached the final of the inaugural China Cup in Nanning, defeating the hosts 2-0 at the Guangxi Sports Centre on Tuesday night before a crowd of 23,876. China, buoyed by the news that their country’s hopes of reaching the World Cup finals in 2026 were boosted by an expanded 48-team format, failed to find the net against last year’s European championship heroes. Iceland defeated England 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets in footballing history in the last 16 in Nice. Kjartan Finnbogason... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2061041/iceland-too-hot-hosts-inaugural-china-cup?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2061041/iceland-too-hot-hosts-inaugural-china-cup?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:00:15 +0000