Xi Jinping, a lifelong soccer fan, hoped to marshal China’s collective spirit behind “the beautiful game.” In reality, he welcomed a fleet of vultures to feast on it.
President Xi Jinping and Chancellor Angela Merkel watch German and Chinese children playing soccer in a 2017 visit to Berlin. Credit: Ronald Wittek - Pool/Getty Images
In October of 2015, Chinese media announced Xi Jinping’s first selfie. China’s leader looked uncharacteristically jolly posing alongside the soccer star Sergio Aguero and then-British Prime Minister David Cameron, with Aguero snapping the trio’s photo. It quickly went viral. Argentine striker Aguero became an overnight sensation and his team, Manchester City, scooped up a sizable Chinese fanbase.
“Every person in the world asks me about the selfie,” Aguero later said.
Xi was in the UK for a state visit. But on his final day, he made time to enjoy a Manchester City training session. A lifelong soccer fan, Xi soaked up the atmosphere at the English Premier League club. But it was more than simple fun. Just eight months earlier, Xi had launched his “Overall Plan for Chinese Football Reform and Development” — a pledge to transform the game’s development in China, from top to bottom.
Its goals were manifold. Healthcare costs were skyrocketing, and Chin
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