WITH China set to host an expanded 24-team FIFA Club World Cup in 2021 and the AFC Asian Cup in 2023, Chinese football authorities hope these events will help the country reach its goal of having one of the world’s best national teams in 30 years’ time.

The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup will be held across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenyang, Ji’nan, Hangzhou and Dalian between June and July 2021, while the 2023 Asian Cup will be staged in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Xi’an, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen and Suzhou, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said Saturday.

“Hosting the Club World Cup and the Asian Cup will be a major boost to China’s football industry and infrastructure as well as the reform and expansion of football population,” a CFA spokesman said.

China has already featured at global club football’s top table, with Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande qualifying for the Club World Cup in 2013 and 2015, finishing fourth on both occasions.

“It is a huge event for Chinese football, sport, and the whole country as well. The CFA will work together with FIFA and the host cities to present a successful, wonderful and perfect event,” the spokesman added.

Following the 2021 Club World Cup, China will then host the 2023 Asian Cup, featuring 24 of the continent’s best national teams competing across the country during a month-long tournament.

Hosting major international football events is listed as a major objective in the Chinese government’s 2015 plan for football reform and development, with hopes that the country will have developed into a global footballing powerhouse by 2050.

The growth of China’s football industry is not limited to sustained on-pitch success, however. With more and more Chinese brands going global, Chinese enterprises are becoming increasingly significant in global sports marketing, with no fewer than seven Chinese companies sponsoring the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

China has already announced its intention to bid to host the FIFA World Cup in future, but has not specified when it would seek to do so.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in October that China had won the right to host the inaugural edition of the expanded Club World Cup in 2021.

The revamped Club World Cup will be held every four years featuring 24 teams and, replacing the seven-team annual event.

(Xinhua, CGTN)