Beijing: The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on July 22, 2025, its plan to form a national esports team. This institutional declaration surprised many, particularly football fans and the Chinese esports community, following the national team’s poor performance and failure to qualify for the next FIFA World Cup. The information was released by sources from the AFP news agency.
The CFA stated that the new Chinese esports team aims to compete in events organized by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and other football agencies.
Last month, the CFA sacked head coach Branko Ivankovic after a 1-0 loss to Indonesia ended China’s hopes in the 2026 World Cup qualifier in Asia. While China’s national team currently ranks a disappointing 94th in the world, the country’s esports sector is experiencing significant growth.
In 2024, this modern industry boasted approximately 490 million users, generated an annual income of $38.5 billion, and organized 124 sports matches. Notably, at the 2015 Asian Games, China secured four of five available gold medals.
Driven by this constant improvement, the CFA aims to venture into esports, a move that has sparked diverse reactions among Chinese football fans. One Weibo user wrote, “I think it can actually work because we have a solid basis in many esports in our country, and choosing the rich talent is the most just thing.”
Conversely, other accounts were less optimistic. One opinion stated, “They’ve already messed up real football; now they want to make electronic football another mess?”
