More than a game

With 1.3 billion people to choose from, you’d think China could find eleven who were really good at football. It hasn’t happened yet but they will one day. And soon. In the meantime, football takes a backseat to basketball, ping pong, swimming, athletics – and all the other things that China is really good at. It explains why, on the first day of the new football season, Chengdu’s 50,000 seater stadium played host to just 4000 fans. And that’s a good gate by all accounts.

Nonetheless, the potential for football is absolutely huge here. All the major English Premiership clubs have Far East operations. Who knows, they may get lucky, find one or two world class players and get them back to England on the cheap. But they’re also mesmerised by the thought of replica shirt sales by the million if they can only turn Chinese youngsters into fans of Chelsea, Man U or, erm, Sheffield United.

The Yorkshire club is partnered with the Chengdu side and the marketing machine is starting to roll. They’ve changed the name of the club for a start – to The Chengdu Blades. I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound quite right to me and you can bet your bottom renminbi that it doesn’t resonate much with your average Chengdu-ite either.

The website (www.chengdubladesfc.com.cn/eng/) carries breathless reports about Sheffield United’s latest goalless draw if anyone’s interested. And you can get your genuine SUFC replica shirt in the club shop if you’ve got a few more RMB to spare.

The shop was shut last week for the game against Harbin for some reason. And I think there are a few more marketing lessons to be learnt besides that. There’s no food or drink allowed in – or for sale in – the stadium; over-priced refreshments must surely be on Page One of the Football Marketing Textbook.

In case you didn’t know, Chengdu Blades play in the China Jia A League (equivalent to England’s Championship). Last season they finished fifth but hopes of promotion are high this year having spent RMB 40 million on new players. On the evidence of last Saturday, they might just make it.

The standard of football, however, is patchy to be honest. Some of the players could probably hold their own in a Championship side but others were more Sunday League than Football League. The pace of the game, too, was pretty pedestrian; it reminded me of playing on a full size pitch when I was a school kid – the pitch seemed so BIG! Having said that, some of the goals were pretty good and one or two players were very skilful (look out for a guy called Song Wang in the future).

The final score was Chengdu 6 Harbin 0. Each goal was greeted with clouds of multicoloured ticker tape billowing down onto the rows of empty seats and Chengdu’s red army of supporters going generally wild (well, they clapped and cheered a bit). Right in the middle of the main stand sat a phalanx of red-tee-shirted old ladies who sang the most melodic football songs I’ve ever heard, all orchestrated by a big bloke at the front with a huge baton which he used to conduct the brass band.


Yes, the brass band. Perhaps the Sheffield connection isn’t so daft after all.