Seasons In Chinese Football
Football in China consists of Association football (Chinese: 足球; pinyin: zúqiú) as well as the China national football team. Football has been one of the most well supported sports in China, since it was introduced in the early 1900s. Ancient Chinese football was called "Cuju". The national governing body is the Chinese Football Association (CFA). Hong Kong and Macau have separate leagues.
The professional league is marred by match-fixing, illegal betting, and violence on and off the pitch, which the Chinese government has said would take a long time to fix. In fact, many insiders including the two former CEO of the Football Association of China were arrested and prosecuted for taking bribes, gambling and fixing games. On December 21, 2009, China was awarded FIFA's Development Award after successfully implementing a new nationwide grassroots football program.
According to FIFA ranking on 14th Feb., 2013,the Men's National Team is ranked 96th in the world, and Women's National Team is ranked 17th.
Read more about Seasons In Chinese Football: Professional League, National Team, Football Development, Media Coverage of Football in China, Corruption in Chinese Football
Famous quotes containing the words seasons and/or football:
“Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)
“In this dream that dogs me I am part
Of a silent crowd walking under a wall,
Leaving a football match, perhaps, or a pit,
All moving the same way.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)