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
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