Brazilian striker Goulart Pereira currently plays in the Chinese Super League. (Photo : Reuters)
In an effort to establish a globally competitive national men's football team, China is considering offering citizenship to foreign players, a controversial proposal that has sparked a debate among the sport's fans in the country, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In the ethnocentric country with strict immigration policies, foreign influence is constantly being watched for fear it might affect culture and national discourse.
On Saturday, a tempest of comments responded to Zhang Jian, vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association, who posted that government agencies have been studying the idea of letting foreign football players become naturalized citizens in order to allow them to represent China on the pitch.
"I'd rather see yellow-skinned players lose than see people of other skin color play for the national team," wrote one person on Sina Weibo.
"To be honest, given the state China's in right now, this is the only way for us to qualify for the World Cup," said another Sina Weibo user.
Zhang said that naturalization is a "sensitive topic," which affects Chinese law and population policies.
"As to what form naturalization could take, over the course of our discussions, we found that this isn't a simple issue," said Zhang.
Football is currently the top spectator sport in China, with foreign players already a part of its professional leagues.
However, the country's national men's team has only qualified for the World Cup once in 2002. It has since been in the middle tiers of international football, currently ranked 82nd in the world.
The Chinese women's team has done a better job, with six appearances in the Women's World Cup, including a runner-up finish in 1999.
However, others worry that naturalizing foreign players could hurt the sport more than help it.
"If China opens the door to naturalizing foreign players, it would deal a ruinous blow to the national team," wrote Luo Ming, deputy editor of Titan Sports newspaper. "A foreseeable consequence is this: All 11 positions in a Chinese Super League team could be filled by naturalized foreigners."
Experts also believe that the proposal contradicts China's current immigration policies and practices.
Currently, foreigners can only apply for Chinese citizenship if they have close relatives who are Chinese nationals, are living in China, or have "other legitimate reasons."
The Chinese government wants to attract talented foreigners into the country, but mainly though a permanent residency program, not citizenship.
However, it is unclear if China will even benefit from naturalizing foreign players.
Under FIFA regulations, a naturalized player can only represent his new country after living there continuously for at least five years after turning 18, unless the player has parents or grandparents born in that country.
Also, few foreign players have showed signs of wanting to be naturalized. Most foreigners that play for China's domestic leagues leave after only a few years.
