China

China's World Cup dream will come true: Soccer boss

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-08 12:37

The Chairman of the Chinese soccer sport's ruling body has expressed confidence that China will one day make a successful bid for a future World Cup, according to a report in the Qilu Evening News.

Speaking during an unexpected street interview in Cape Town, Wei Di, the chief put in charge of soccer five months ago, said "China is bound to hold World Cup one day, but not in my tenure."

In fact, the World Cup finals will not be held in China for the next 16 years as they failed to enter bids to host either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.

Media reports suggested the Chinese Football Association could make a play for the event in 2026, with several games in Hong Kong.

It was reported that Wei's journey to the South Africa is aimed at learning South African football management lessons under recommendation of Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

"The football league in South Africa has the familiar woes three years ago as we suffer now in China," he added, "match-fixing scandals and illegal gambling were also rampant in South Africa before a Swedish manager was introduced to launch a thorough reform"

Chinese football super league will face a series of overhauls next year, Wei told media but no details were reported.

"We should choose skill-based football development direction as our Asian neighbors Japan and South Korea did," Wei stressed.

When asked about whether China considered inviting a worldwide prestigious coach for the national team, Wei expressed there was no plan as the national team was in a sound period.