Forbes: What the Gold Rush in Chinese Football Teaches Us about Globalization

European soccer teams already bear the mark of globalization, with many teams sponsored or owned by investors from other continents. China has been entering the global stage in recent years, and China’s President Xi Jinping has professed his love for the sport. Sports can be a show of soft power, notes Stefan Hall for Forbes, since “sporting events can be used to spread a nation’s cultural values, as well as making a country more enticing to foreign investors and students.” Indeed, soccer will be the core of the Chinese government’s goal to develop a 5 trillion yuan, or $730 billion, sports economy by 2025. The Chinese Super League has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on contracts to lure European players into its ranks. The government has even considered offering citizenship as another incentive, despite the extreme rarity of naturalization in China. —YaleGlobal