China's Football Association has signaled it may bid for the World Cup in 2026, raising speculation that such a move could undermine the hopes of Japan, South Korea, Qatar and even Australia, which are in the running to host the 2022 tournament.
The winning bids for 2018 and 2022 will be announced Dec. 2, with a European country expected to be chosen for the earlier of those. The emergence of China as a contender for 2026 could work in favor of the US bid for 2022.
"If China throws its hat in for 2026, it blows everything wide open for 2022 because in many ways China is arguably the last great footballing frontier," said Simon Chadwick, a sports marketing expert at Coventry University in England.
"From the Chinese government's perspective, bidding for the World Cup is an important thing," he said. "From FIFA's perspective, there is considerable appeal in China bidding for 2026 because I think it's a very important marketplace. I would argue China is much more important marketplace than the (US) was in 1994."
CFA head Wei Di first hinted at a bid last week after returning from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, telling the country's leading sports newspaper Titan Sports that China has the venues and the rail network needed to host a big event — something he communicated to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
"Mr. Blatter told me China is becoming more and more influential and it's an irresistible trend that China will finally host a World Cup," Wei said.
He also came out in favor of the United States winning the 2022 bid and took aim at Qatar, over fears that an Asian winner would jeopardize China's chances in 2026.
FIFA rules dictate that no continent can host the World Cup twice in a row.
"Qatar is so hot. Even though the country is rich enough to build venues with air conditioning system. But what's the population of that country? How can they fill their venues with people?" Wei told the newspaper.
Strict protocol prohibits candidates from discussing rival World Cup bids ahead of the vote in December for the 2018 and 2022 editions, but the contest for countries wanting to host the 2026 World Cup isn't even open yet, so China isn't bound by those guidelines.
"I'd rather hope U.S could win the bid, which means we'll have higher chance of success bidding for 2026," Wei was quoted as saying. "If FIFA decided to let an Asian country host the 2022 World Cup, then China will have to wait at least until 2030."
Wei this week reaffirmed China's interest in hosting the 2026 tournament during a press conference in Beijing but said, according to the Asian Football Confederation website, "I never said I don't want other Asian countries not to win it in 2022."
The talk of China bidding for 2026 World Cup brought a less than supportive response from AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam, a native Qatari who was at the news conference.
Bin Hammam said the AFC is supporting the four Asian bidders for the 2022 tournament and that he "didn't want to jeopardize their chances."
Reaction from the four bidders to the Chinese threat has been mostly mixed, with only Japan acknowledging that a Chinese bid poses challenges. Qatar and Australian football officials declined to comment.
"I think any country has to take it seriously when a country with so huge a population and such strong economic growth puts itself forward as a candidate," Motoaki Inukai, chairman of Japan's bid and president of the Japan Football Association, said of a China bid.
"For FIFA, China is definitely important when it comes to the development of football." But South Korean officials dismissed a threat posed by China and said its intentions will not influence FIFA delegates when they choose the 2022 World Cup host.
"Since the Chinese haven't even formally registered a bid yet, I don't think the fact that they've shown interest in hosting the World Cup in 2026 will weaken our chances," said Han Sung-joo, chairman of South Korea's World Cup bidding committee.
If China does manage to win the 2026 bid, it would hail a starling turnaround for a nation that has languished in Asian football despite its massive population and interest in the sport. In its favor was China's successful staging of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which highlighted the country's ability to host a major event.
Its domestic league has been marred by corruption and the national squad was knocked out of 2010 World Cup qualifying last year, failing to make the top 10 sides in Asia. In its only World Cup appearance, when the finals were co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002, China lost all three group games and failed to score a goal.
Although football remains hugely popular in China, many fans have given up on the local teams and instead closely follow the professional leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy.
But there are signs that China is attempting to improve its footballing image — to reflect is growing economic might and the passion for the sport that has been undaunted despite its recent troubles.
Newly appointed national team coach Gao Hongbo has set qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as a target in his quest to revitalize the beleaguered team. And Wei has vowed to clean up the local league and improve the performance of the national side by scheduling more matches and improving training techniques.
"In China, there is already a strong predisposition toward football," Chadwick said. "It's a captive audience and nobody has engaged that captive audience. I think 2026 is the opportunity for FIFA to engage that captive audience."
