Why can't China play in the World Cup?

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Ask the question "Why did China miss the World Cup?", and the onlookers will surely laugh without saying a word. But digging deeper is actually an interesting topic.

Generally speaking, economic growth is directly proportional to the development of art and sports. After people eat and wear warm clothes through their labor income, they will think of some pastimes, the so-called "satiety." From a macro point of view, there is usually a phenomenon that with the development of a country's economy, cultural and sports undertakings are also thriving.

An obvious example is the Renaissance. /kloc-the general economic prosperity in Europe in the third century prepared economic conditions for the Renaissance. But without the war and the Black Death, the Renaissance might not be so fast, because the per capita economic growth level was not high. However, the war and the Black Death greatly reduced the population of Europe, which in turn greatly increased the economic resources that survivors could have. When they had the opportunity to consider using them for other purposes, funding literary and artistic works became the choice of families like Medici and became an important economic reason for the Renaissance.

The relationship between economic base and sports development is very similar. Even Uruguay (1930) has developed because its economy has not fallen into crisis like the United States. No money, no World Cup. The total prize money awarded by FIFA for the 20 10 World Cup in South Africa is as high as 400 million US dollars, not counting the infrastructure construction and public services provided by South Africa for hosting the World Cup. The bonus given by the North Korean government to the North Korean team to enter the 20 10 World Cup exceeded the bonus given to the Olympic gold medal winners. Of course, starting from 1998, the number of people watching TV shows that the influence of the World Cup has surpassed that of the Olympic Games, which may also lead to an increase in bonuses.

But it is wishful thinking to think that money can send the team to the World Cup. Although there is a lot of evidence to show the relationship between economic development and sports level, there is no evidence to show the relationship between economic development and football level. This is a very interesting result. It can be seen that the national teams of the United States and China, two economic powers in the world today, are not excellent. China, whose economic growth in the past 30 years has been close to double digits, has won wide acclaim for saving the market with abundant financial resources in this round of economic crisis, and has not even entered the World Cup. Compared with its huge fan base, it is really embarrassing humor.

So can we draw a conclusion that although economic growth is related to the development of the whole sports, it has nothing to do with the level of football, because football is an exception? Since the reform and opening up from 65438 to 0978, China has made great economic achievements on the basis of respecting property rights and expanding the market. Especially in the global financial turmoil triggered by the American subprime mortgage crisis in 2008-2009, China still maintained remarkable economic growth, which made many researchers have an illusion that there is a "China model" that can be used as a reference for the future world. This further strengthened the confidence of some people. I believe that as long as the economy develops, everything will be solved, and it is not only inevitable to move towards democracy and the rule of law, but also the level of football will be improved accordingly.

The development level of football in China has been very low, which is different from the lack of political competition in China. The marketization of football in China has already started, and the competition among clubs is becoming more and more fierce. However, this marketization does not seem to provide fans with the pleasure of high-level football, but it is a painful experience after repeated failures. If it is difficult for China people with a vast territory to reach a unified understanding of a specific event, they are surprisingly consistent in their attitude of "mourning their misfortunes and angering them". Compared with the different controversies surrounding the China model, it is much less difficult to confirm the low level of football in China.

What is the reason? The financial crisis has brought the Austrian school's economic thought back to people's field of vision. Re-reading Mises and Hayek's related discourses, it is not difficult to find that they pointed the crisis at the regulator or the regulator. The problem of football in China is not money. In fact, the investment in football is not less than other projects. Moreover, due to the early market-oriented reform, the related industries around football have actually invested a lot. And according to China's drive to host the World Expo, China is fully capable of giving the world's highest prize to motivate players to get tickets for the World Cup.

Considering from three aspects: capital, factors and labor, China is not short of capital, and the corresponding supporting construction of football venues has already reached the international level, except for the defects of players. But in fact, players can also get it by relaxing the conditions for skilled immigrants. Therefore, in the case that there is no shortage of funds, elements and players, the reason why China can't enter the World Cup comes down to the corresponding system level. Li et al.' s Inside Story of China Football revealed a lot of darkness under the system. An important manifestation of "institutional problems" is corruption, and fraud, gambling and triad involvement are just one manifestation.

This is actually similar to other fields. On the surface, the football market is actually a "market" under a distorted system, which is not only lawless, but also morally bankrupt and unable to find the rule of law and moral foundation of the market economy. It is difficult to create an environment for sustainable development, and it is also impossible to send China to the World Cup. The General Administration of Sports and the Football Association should be transformed into non-governmental organizations and trade associations as soon as possible to further carry out market-oriented reforms. Some people will say, are there no exceptions? China led by Milu once created a miracle of entering the World Cup, but it was really just an accident. Of course, without changing the system, China can also consider applying to host the World Cup and be a direct finalist as the host. After all, from the historical data, the host country of the World Cup has no record of making money at a loss.