China is strengthening its ambition to become a world power in football and hosting the World Cup for the first time in its history by 2030, through a boom in new stadiums costing billions of dollars.

This construction boom is remarkable because it comes at a time when the new epidemic of the Corona virus has frozen life in most parts of the world and caused enormous economic damage.

But as the epidemic receded in China, where it first appeared in Wuhan last December, the defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande laid the foundation stone for the construction of its 12 billion yuan (1.7 billion US dollars) stadium last week.

With a capacity of 100,000 fans and an exterior in the shape of a lotus flower, its capacity will exceed the "Camp Nou" stadium of Barcelona FC, after the completion of its construction work in 2022.

Days later, the Evergrande Group, the largest real estate developer founded by one of China's richest people, announced its intention to build two additional stadiums with a capacity of eighty thousand or more spectators.

The superpower will have more than 12 new stadiums in two years, according to the government newspaper, "Southern Metropolis", which talked about "a new era of Chinese football."

Most of the stadiums will be used in the new version of the Club World Cup that was scheduled in the summer of 2021, but the International Federation (FIFA) announced its postponement due to the pressure of the tournaments in the summer of next year after postponing several dates that were scheduled this summer due to the outbreak of the emerging Corona virus, and in the Cup Asia 2023.
But President Xi Jinping, who is known for his passion for the popular game, has in mind the most important world championship: the World Cup Finals.

"I think the desire of China to apply for the World Cup is very clear," said Ji Yuyang, a journalist in the daily "Oriental Sports".

He added that China's candidacy to host the World Cup would be a matter of time.

Swiss International Football Federation (FIVA) President Jani Infantino said last June that he welcomed a Chinese candidate to host the 2030 edition of the World Cup.

Ready for the World Cup Final

The new Evergrande has made headlines due to its large size and bold design.

But not for long. Most of the sports competitions in the world are currently suspended, and the economy of countries, like China, is the second largest in the world, suffering from the Corona virus.

Moreover, the Gwangju Stadium will not host the Asian Cup matches, and is likely not to be ready before the FIFA Club World Cup, which was postponed until after the summer of 2021, due to the postponement of the European Cup and Copa America from the summer of 2020 to 2021 due to the epidemic.

But such projects also raise questions, including the need for a team with a crowd audience of 50,000, to have a stadium with this capacity?
"I think there are two considerations for Evergrande. The first is that a stadium with a capacity of 100,000 fans will be useful if China hosts the World Cup final or the opening game," Ji said.

"The second point is that Evergrande will be able to claim that he owns the largest professional football field in the world, with the largest number of spectators."

Most of the stadiums currently used by Chinese clubs are built for several sports, many of them are in poor condition and do not provide facilities for spectators in the stands.

Its alternative would be appropriate and within the criteria of football stadiums that President Shi plans to build in order to transform sports in his country, inside and outside the green rectangle.

- "Soft power for stadiums" -
In Shanghai, aspiring to host the Summer Olympics, work is scheduled to end next year at the 33,000-seat Shanghai FC Club Stadium.

The Shanghai stadium, the city's largest stadium and former headquarters of Shanghai Sepag, is also undergoing a major renovation.

And while Evergrande pays the construction costs for the new Gwangju Stadium, Ji added that the rest of the stadiums bear the costs of building the club and the local government together.

British Professor Simon Shadwick, director of the Eurasian Sports Industry Center at Emilion University of Business, said that in addition to China's ambition to host the World Cup, the eagerness to build new stadiums sends the message that "China is developing and becoming stronger and healthier."
"This is a huge stadium, its design is shocking and its images have swept across the world and people are commenting on it wherever it is."

"This is almost the soft power of the stadiums. China is trying to use these distinctive stadium designs to attract attention and to make people understand that China wants what other countries want."