Big names can’t deliver World Cup dream
If you’re a fan of European soccer, then you will know the old adage that “money can’t buy happiness” is bunkum.
Money has certainly done the trick for fans of Chelsea and Manchester City, two teams whose glory days were thought to be behind them until billionaire owners swooped in and offered unlimited coffers to land the best players.
Now, cashrich clubs in China are following the same model.
This month has already seen two blockbuster signings, with Brazilian playmaker Oscar arriving from Chelsea for a staggering $63.5 million, and Belgian ball-winner Axel Witsel signed from Zenit St. Petersburg for $21.2 million. With the transfer window open
This Day, That Year
ItemfromJan12,1989,in ChinaDaily:Twoworkersat BeijingAirCateringCoLtd preparemealboxesforairlines.
Thecompany,ajointventurewithHongKong,issupplyingfoodto24domestic andforeignairlines....
The flight catering industry has witnesses major changes since the 1980s, along with the rapid growth in the number of air passengers.
The meal options available on airplanes have also until Feb 28, don’t expect the spending to stop there.
While this is good news for fans of the Chinese Super League, myself included, stuffing a league with foreign players, superstars or not, is unlikely to bring the country closer to its goal of becoming a global soccer powerhouse by 2050.
The English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga, arguably the most exciting leagues in the world, have been importing players en masse for years.
Foreign players made up 66.4 percent of EPL squads in the 2015-16 season and 41.6 percent in La Liga, according to a report by the Football Observatory, part of Switzerland’s International Centre for Sport Studies.
By contrast, 21 percent of CSL players were from overseas, which suggests we’re not at saturation point just yet. The bigger question is whether clubs are putting enough effort into nurturing changed. They vary from one airline to another, with some carriers offering gourmet food as part of their service.
Founded in 1988, Beijing Air Catering Co has about 2,600 full-time employees and generates $109 million in annual revenue.
In the early years, the company could only produce up to 200 meals a day. Now, it makes about 70,000 meals a day, providing meals to 400 flights.
In addition, it offers a choice of more than 2,500 homegrown talent.
I’m no scout, but I can remember only one game last season when I was genuinely wowed by a young Chinese prospect. Amazingly, he was an attacker.
Like most top leagues, the majority of CSL imports are forwards (31.1 percent). With just one Chinese striker among the top 10 scorers last season — Wu Lei at Shanghai SIPG — it is little wonder the Chinese national team has a hard time scoring. It has failed to hit the net in its last three matches, against Qatar, Uzbekistan and Syria dishes to meet the dietary needs of the passengers.
Beijing’s Capital International Airport is one of the world’s busiest. Last year, the airport handled more than 90 million passengers
The nation’s flight catering business is expected to get a boost under a government (a nation with a lot more on its mind than soccer right now).
The General Administration of Sport of China is talking about a salary cap to keep spending on “overpriced foreigners” in check. Yet more importantly it has criticized clubs for “neglecting investment in youth training”.
“Talented players are born all over the world,” the Football Observatory report concludes. “To encourage clubs worldwide not to take the easy road and fall into the trap of recklessly importing players and selling their souls to the market actors (agents), training must be better protected and better paid.”
Time will tell what the administration does to fix the problem, but until then, headline-grabbing signings, and the commercial opportunities they bring, will continue to be the focus for CSL clubs.
Contact the writer at craig@chinadaily.com.cn plan to build more than 500 civilian airports by 2020.
And in 20 years, China is expected to become the world’s largest aviation market, according to industry estimates.