As soon as 2046? Bidding for the World Cup, what should Chinese football do?

The reporter reported coldly On November 30, FIFA released an evaluation report on Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, and Saudi Arabia received the highest technical score in the history of the World Cup (4.2 out of 5). The FIFA General Assembly on December 11 will determine the host country for the 2034 World Cup, and given that Saudi Arabia is the only bidder, it is likely that the host country will be determined by acclamation without a vote. In fact, as early as October 31, 2023, the deadline for bidding for the 2034 World Cup stipulated by FIFA, there is no suspense for Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup. Chinese fans have been hoping that China can bid for the World Cup for many years, but after the 2034 World Cup fell to Saudi Arabia, China's bid for the World Cup will have to wait until 2046 recently.

In September 2023, Saudi Arabia announced its bid to host the 2034 World Cup, and on October 4 of that year, the FIFA Council suddenly announced the start of the 2034 World Cup bidding process, and the deadline for submitting bid intentions was determined to be October 31, and detailed bid materials needed to be submitted before November 30. There is less than a month between the start of the 2034 World Cup bid process and the deadline for submitting bids, which is obviously tailor-made for Saudi Arabia. FIFA even persuaded Australia, which had the intention of bidding, as early as September, forming a situation where there was no suspense in Saudi Arabia's bid alone. For most of 2023, the Chinese Football Association is experiencing an anti-corruption storm, and when the new president of the Football Association, Song Kai, took office in mid-October, the bid for the 2034 World Cup had already settled.

It is worth mentioning that former FIFA President Seppat Blatter and current President Gianni Infantino have repeatedly expressed their hope that China will bid for the World Cup. As early as June 2019, Infantino, who was successfully re-elected as FIFA president, immediately expressed his hope that China would bid for the World Cup. At that time, according to FIFA's bid principle of at least two World Cups on the same continent, China could bid for the 2034 World Cup. At the end of October this year, Infantino visited Shanghai and met with Song Kai, president of the Chinese Football Association, who once again expressed his hope that China would bid for the world football tournament, especially the World Cup.

Bidding for the World Cup is a national project that needs to be considered in all aspects, and it is a major event in the context of China's football reform and development. As early as the end of 2018, the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Competition Performance Industry", which has emphasized the support for the introduction of major international events, and the introduction of a number of international top events with high brand awareness and wide market prospects. This is the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics that China's bid to host the World Cup has received clear support from the top level.

Chinese football has already missed the opportunity for Asia to host the World Cup twice in 2022 and 2034, and the nearest one may be until 2046. In fact, China's bid for the World Cup has more than enough hardware: the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams requires at least 15 FIFA-compliant stadiums with a capacity of more than 40,000 to host the games. At present, there are as many as 59 stadiums with a capacity of more than 40,000 people, 36 stadiums with a capacity of more than 50,000 people, 19 stadiums with a capacity of more than 60,000 people, and 3 stadiums with a capacity of more than 80,000 people. Among them, there are at least 10 professional football stadiums with a capacity of more than 40,000 people, which is more than enough to meet the hardware conditions for hosting the World Cup.

But in terms of software, Chinese football still needs to continue to work hard to provide more confidence and confidence for the bid for the World Cup. Previously, when Blatter and Infantino expressed their support for China's bid to host the World Cup, it coincided with the trough period of Chinese football. In 2009, when FIFA launched the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup, the national football team had just missed the final qualifiers of the Asian zone for two consecutive World Cups. The domestic league has fallen into a low ebb, and the anti-gambling and anti-crime campaign in Chinese football has just begun. When FIFA launched the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup in 2023, the anti-corruption storm in Chinese football was in full swing, the senior management of the Chinese Football Association was arrested, and the domestic league and national team were also in a low period.

With the comprehensive improvement of Chinese football at all levels of campus football, youth training, professional leagues and national teams, Chinese football must have the confidence and confidence to bid for the World Cup, and clearly convey and display it to the outside world: this kind of display, first of all, before the national football team bids for the 2046 World Cup, shows the possibility of reaching the World Cup finals again; Similarly, national teams of all age groups can enter the finals of the U17 World Junior Championships, the U20 World Youth Championships and the Olympic Games, thus proving that Chinese football has made great progress in sustainable development. In addition, in terms of campus football, youth training, and professional leagues, can Chinese football also initially form a virtuous circle and a healthy development trend? All of the above requires the joint efforts of the Chinese football community in the future, so that the outside world can see the progress of Chinese football, and look forward to the bid for the World Cup can bring more incentives and more room for development to Chinese football.

The bid for the World Cup is a major event that Chinese football will inevitably complete, but before that, Chinese football must work hard to build self-confidence and confidence, so that everyone realizes that Chinese football has made full preparations for the bid for the World Cup.