China signals World Cup ambitions with new football stadiums

China is in the throes of a multibillion-dollar splurge on new football stadiums, ramping up ambitions to be a superpower in the sport and host a World Cup as early as 2030.

The building spree is taking place despite the coronavirus pandemic which has brought much of the world to a standstill, ravaging economies and putting live sport on hold.

But with the outbreak receding in China, where it emerged in December, Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Guangzhou Evergrande last week began construction on their 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) new home.

With a capacity of 100,000, the lotus flower-shaped stadium will for a time trump Barcelona's Camp Nou -- which is set for expansion -- as the world's biggest football arena, once it is completed by the end of 2022.

Evergrande Group, a major property developer founded by one of China's richest men, said it also intends to build two more 80,000-seater stadiums in China.

The country will have at least 12 major new football stadiums two years from now, said the state-run Southern Metropolis Daily, calling it "a new era for Chinese football".

Most will be used for the newly expanded 2021 Club World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, but President Xi Jinping has his eyes on the biggest prize of all.

"I think China's desire to apply for the World Cup is very clear," said Ji Yuyang, a journalist for the Oriental Sports Daily.

Ji said it was a matter of when, not if, China bids.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in June that he would welcome a Chinese bid to stage the 2030 World Cup, the next one up for grabs.

- Fit for a World Cup final -
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"Another point is that Evergrande will be able to make a statement by saying that they have the largest professional football stadium in the world, with the largest number of spectators."
- 'Soft power of stadiums' -
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