SEOUL -- When Xi Jinping took power in 2013, the president talked of China shedding its label of one of men's soccer's great underachievers to become a force in the sport and eventually win the World Cup. Little progress has been made. With the men's national team struggling, clubs folding and corruption seemingly endemic, few were surprised by a 7-0 loss to Japan in September 2024. Yet just as the top-down approach looks to have failed, there is something stirring at the grassroots level.
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The screenboard shows the attendance of the match between Nanjing and Suzhou in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China on July 5. © Getty Images
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