In The Balance

Is the world of football about to see a powershift? China wants to be a global leader in football and President Xi has a masterplan to have fifty million Chinese citizens playing football by 2020. It's the big money transfer of players that catch the eye and this summer will see more star names tempted to make the move to China. Ed Butler is joined by Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford Business School, Mark Dreyer, editor of China Sports Insider and Alexander Jarvis, chairman of Blackbridge Cross Borders, who specialise in the football business. Ed looks to find out why China is doing this and whether they can really succeed. (Picture: A view of the main stadium at the Evergrande International Football School in Guangdong Province, China. Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)