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China undergo ‘patriotic education’ to win Women’s World Cup
BEIJING, May 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China’s Women’s World Cup football team
swapped the training pitch for the classroom to beef up their political
knowledge and reinforce their dedication to the communist-ruled country.
In a step that is unlikely to be replicated by their rivals at next month’s
tournament in France, the whole squad sat down for a series of lectures
dubbed “Motherland in My Heart”.
Whether it helps China beat European heavyweights Germany in their World
Cup opener on June 8 is debatable, but captain Wu Haiyan said: “Patriotic
education is of great significance to us who are going to play for our
country.”
The Chinese Football Association (CFA), the governing body, hailed it as
essential preparation to face the world’s best football teams.
During the class on Monday in Beijing, Professor Wen Jing from Beijing
Normal University spoke at length to all the players and coaches.
They studied China’s constitution and laws, which “made the squad clear
about the basic rights and obligations of citizens, and deepened their
understanding of patriotic rules from the moral, legal and political levels”,
the CFA said.
The squad were pictured with notebooks on their laps and a large Chinese
flag next to a projector screen at the front of the classroom.
The CFA, which is often lambasted by Chinese football fans for its running
of the game — it previously banned tattoos — said that the “activities…
left a deep mark in the hearts of the players”.
China’s “Steel Roses” will need to pull off a shock if they are to make a
serious impact at the World Cup.
They are ranked 16th by FIFA and compete in a tough Group B that contains
Spain, South Africa and two-time champions Germany.
China’s best performance at a World Cup was in 1999, when they lost the
final to hosts the United States on penalties.
Led by Paris Saint-Germain’s Wang Shuang, China’s women carry the hopes of
a nation that under football-fan President Xi Jinping has grand ambitions.
Xi wants the country of 1.4 billion people to host and even one day win the
men’s World Cup.
But the men’s side have reached football’s top table only once, in 2002,
when they hastily departed without a point or scoring a goal.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1325 hrs