China's top football body said on Tuesday it planned to form a national esports team, a surprise foray into virtual gaming after a dismal performance saw the country fail to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The new national esports football team will compete in "events organised by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and other organisations", the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said.
The CFA last month sacked national coach Branko Ivankovic after a 1-0 defeat to Indonesia, a result that effectively dashed China's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
But while China languish at 94th in FIFA's world rankings, two places below tiny Luxembourg to the dismay of their vast fanbase, the country's esports sector is booming.
In 2024, the industry boasted approximately 490 million users, generated $38.5 billion in annual revenue and hosted 124 esports competitions.
At the 2023 Asian Games, China's esports team secured four out of five gold medals.
The CFA's foray into esports sparked mixed reactions among Chinese football fans.
"I think this might actually work," one Weibo user said.
"We have quite a considerable esports player base in our country, and the talent selection is relatively fair," he said.
Others were less optimistic.
"They have messed up football in real life and now they want to mess up football in esports," wrote another.