Why Chinese clubs buy expensive soccer players - Rowan Simons

Rowan Simons

Upcoming China President Xu Jinping is an avid soccer fan and that - say experts like Rowan Simons - might explain why business people are throwing big money at foreign soccer players like  Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, writes the BBC.

The BBC:

Rowan Simons, is the author of the book Bamboo Goalposts, the story of his long-term efforts to develop grass-roots football in China, and he has no doubt about the money now being lavished on foreign signings. 

"These are vanity projects, investments to curry political favour and to show off," he says. 

And he agrees that the wealthy club owners will be paying close attention to the political signals coming from the very top. 

"Of course the Chinese government has been fairly consistent in its ambition to win the World Cup, and it sees investment in football at club level as being a spur for the game." 

But there is a big flaw in the plan, he adds. 

"It's certainly true that the likes of Anelka and Drogba turning up will increase interest in the game, but the problems in Chinese football are systemic; very few football pitches and virtually no infrastructure at the grass-roots level."

More at the BBC.

Rowan Simons is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch with us or fill in our speakers' request form.

Better to spend money on soccer players than bribes - Rowan Simons

Rowan Simons

The influx of well-paid international soccer stars into Chinese club might not be the best way to support grassroots soccer, tells author Rowan Simons in SportsDay, but it is better to pay high-flyers like Nicolas Anelka in stead of bribes, as was common practices.

Sportsday:

“This is just the beginning. Every transfer window from now on you will expect to see more 30-plus world stars, or previous world stars, starting to take big salary payments for a couple of years in China,” said Rowan Simons, a British ex-pat who in his 2009 book Bamboo Goalposts wrote of his dogged efforts to develop soccer in his adopted country... 

China’s women’s national team nearly won the World Cup in 1999, holding Mia Hamm and the United States scoreless for 120 minutes in the final before succumbing in a penalty kick shootout at the Rose Bowl. The men’s team, however, has never won a game or even scored a goal at the World Cup, going 0-3-0 in its lone appearance in 2002. The current team has already been eliminated from qualifying for the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 

Rather than spending on talent or player development, the Chinese for years have used their money to buy off referees and players. Just this week, several Chinese Football Association officials and referees — including a former director of the CFA’s referee committee — went on trial on match-fixing charges. 

Simons says the new spending spree on talent could be good for China, with money that might have been spent on rigging results now going toward purchasing high-profile players. But, speaking on the BBC radio program World Football, he expressed skepticism “whether this new injection of cash at the top will really have a significant impact on the grass roots,” which is where China has long suffered.

More in SportsDay

Rowan Simons is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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Anelka opens international floodgates for Chinese soccer - Rowan Simons

Rowan Simons

The transfer of Chelsea soccer star Nicolas Anelka to Shanghai's Shenhua could become a turning point in China's troubled soccer league, says soccer specialist Rowan Simons, in The Sun. "His move will open the floodgates."

The Sun:

Chinese football expert Rowan Simons, a Beijing-based British expat involved in the game for more than 20 years, said: "Anelka will be the first big star in the Chinese Super League. His move will open the floodgates, so it is a very significant one. " 

Chinese clubs are owned by a mixture of government-linked bodies and private companies and individuals. 

"The money to buy these big stars is coming from very rich private owners who have made fortunes in Chinese business and now want to indulge their passion for football. 

"Like super-rich club owners around the world, they are always looking for new ways to massage their egos and football can help build government relations. 

"The problem is that each has to outshine the previous one so, right now, the hunt is on for a player bigger than Anelka."... 

Simons, whose 'Bamboo Goalposts' book about Chinese football was nominated for the William Hill award in 2008, said: "Chinese football was at the very bottom after corruption scandals and continued failure to make international finals. 

"China is the fastest-growing economy and hundreds of billionaires have emerged. Until now, they have not wanted to be too high-profile for political reasons. 

"But the government has now called on them to save Chinese football and they are gaining in confidence. "The endgame for China is the World Cup — first to qualify for it again, then to do well, then to win it. 

"There are two ways of getting there. One involves throwing money at the elite, with the top reaching down to select and process large numbers of children in order to produce winning teams. The other involves throwing money at grassroots." 

Simons has worked hard on the grassroots angle, using his Club Football organisation to create an amateur structure in Beijing virtually from scratch. 

But the arrival of Anelka, 32, suggests the Chinese game wants to try the 'top-down' route.

More in The Sun

Rowan Simons is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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NBA puts soccer to shame - Rowan Simons

Rowan Simons by Fantake via Flickr

The NBA has become a tremendous success in China, both in popularity and as a money machines. Unlike soccer, tells Rowan Simons CNN, a leading expert on soccer in China, who points at corruption scandals as the main reason.
In CNN:

Earlier this year the former head of the Chinese Super League, Nan Yong, and his deputy Yung Yimin, were arrested on charges of match fixing and bribery.

The scandal has been a huge boon for basketball, and in particular the NBA, in China. It has overtaken football as the most watched sport in the country -- the NBA estimates 450 million people now tune in -- and more than 300 million play the game.

"The NBA in China is massively successful and puts football to shame," explains Rowan Simons, author of Bamboo Goalposts, a book about his attempts to set up amateur football clubs in China.

"The NBA set up NBA China, selling 11 per cent [worth $253 million] to ESPN and Disney. It has several hundred employees. The head of NBA China is Tim Chen [former CEO of Microsoft China].

"It's a big investment play for hearts and minds of Chinese sports fans. They are working with the Chinese government to get a basketball court into ever village in China," added Simons. 

"Marketing, franchised teams, sponsorship, AEG building the stadiums; it's all coordinated in one NBA push. Then you look at football. Internationally, football has no representation in China. Manchester United has one office in Hong Kong."

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Rowan Simons is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

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