History
The China national team was founded in 1924 and joined FIFA in 1931-58, and then from 1979. They have been perennial contenders for the Asian Cup, most recently finishing second in the AFC 2004. But China failed to score a goal in their maiden FIFA World Cup appearance in the Football World Cup 2002. Qualifying for the tournament has been considered the greatest accomplishment in China's football history. As football is widely followed in China, triumph by the national team is considered to be a source of national pride. Around 300 million people tuned into broadcasts of China's World Cup 2002 matches with a staggering 170 million new television sets being bought by citizens in order to watch their nation's first World Cup appearance. There were over 250 million viewers for the Asian Cup 2004 finals, the largest single-event sports audience in the country's history. The team is colloquially referred to as Team China (中国队), the National Team (国家队) or Guozu (国足, lit. "national foot").
Read more about this topic: People's Republic Of China At The FIFA World Cup
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“... the history of the race, from infancy through its stages of barbarism, heathenism, civilization, and Christianity, is a process of suffering, as the lower principles of humanity are gradually subjected to the higher.”
—Catherine E. Beecher (1800–1878)
“English history is all about men liking their fathers, and American history is all about men hating their fathers and trying to burn down everything they ever did.”
—Malcolm Bradbury (b. 1932)