Zhao Yitang had always dreamed of playing soccer for China and this summer he finally did — not in boots on a pitch, but on a smartphone.
As the global popularity of soccer e-sports grows, China is vying for success on the virtual pitch, following decades of struggles in the real-life sport.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has announced plans to form its own national e-sports soccer team, kindling hopes for players like Zhao.
Photo: AFP
“If I could join the national team, I would go all-out in my efforts for the side,” the gamer said.
Recent graduate Zhao, 21, reached the final of this year’s eFootball championship in Tokyo, finishing in second place.
It was China’s best international result in the game formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer, which dominates the soccer e-sports genre along with EA Sports FC Online.
The CFA said its team would soon compete in e-sports events organized by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
Despite being massively popular in China real-life soccer in the country has long been plagued by match-fixing and corruption.
Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the FIFA World Cup.
However, the men’s national team languish 93rd in FIFA’s rankings and failed again to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Soccer e-sports could deliver glory at last.
China is one of the world’s biggest gaming markets, and its players are some of the best in other e-sports games.
However, for top players, striving for glory in soccer video games is far less lucrative than battling for big prize money in fantasy e-sports titles such as League of Legends or Dota 2.
The professionalism of virtual soccer, unlike other e-sports, is at an early stage.
“The prize money is too little. It’s difficult to make a living playing professionally, full-time,” former pro e-sports soccer player Monaco said, asking to use his screen name to avoid online abuse.
Even winning every tournament would only earn a top player about 70,000 yuan (US$9,858) annually before taxes, with regular salaries nonexistent, he said.
By contrast, top players in more established e-sports titles such as League of Legends can earn salaries in the seven figures, alongside sponsorship deals.
“Probably only 10 people in all of China can make a living out of playing” soccer e-sports, said Pan Shuyin, manager of the e-sports division of Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai.
Changchun are trying to set themselves apart.
“We are the only football club in the whole Chinese Super League, maybe even the only football club in China, continuously investing in e-sports,” Pan said.
Other clubs have disbanded their e-sports teams or are reluctant to set them up, because they are seen as money-losers.
One reason for the lower exposure and commercial value of soccer e-sports is that “the bar for playing soccer games is higher.”
That is because it usually requires knowledge of real-life soccer, said Pan, whose club aims to attract more young fans through e-sports.
While Chinese teams have played soccer e-sports at global tournaments in the past, the country is not on the roster for the upcoming FIFAe World Cup, an e-soccer tournament in December in Saudi Arabia.
Worldwide, soccer e-sports is becoming a regular fixture.
The ePremier League kicked off in 2018 and e-sports — including soccer games — became an official medal event at the last Asian Games held in 2023.
Zhao, nicknamed “Ding” or “Teacher Ding” by the e-sports soccer community, first stumbled upon a soccer video game in 2018 to unwind between classes and soccer training.
“If you watch a lot of real-life football matches, or play a lot of real-life football, you will have your own understanding” of how to succeed in e-sports, he said.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS