Earlier this May, it came as a shock to Chinese soccer fans that they might not be able to watch the world’s biggest quadrennial soccer spectacle on television.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, or 世界杯 (Shìjièbēi), hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will run from June 11 to July 19, marking the first time in history that the tournament will be jointly hosted by three countries. It will also debut an expanded 48-team format, featuring a total of 104 matches, making it the largest World Cup ever staged.
However, with less than five weeks before the event kicked off, concerns were mounting that efforts to secure World Cup broadcasting rights on the Chinese mainland could fail. By this point, the negotiation deadlock (谈判僵局 tánpàn jiāngjú) had already lasted for over six months, with FIFA reportedly setting the asking price at between 250 million and 300 million US dollars—nearly double the fee paid for the previous World Cup in Qatar. The steep valuation prompted Chinese media to call the deal “sky-high broadcasting rights (天价转播权 tiānjià zhuǎnbōquán).”
With a planned budget of 60 million to 80 million US dollars, China Media Group (CMG), the sole official broadcaster authorized to negotiate for and acquire World Cup rights in mainland China, refused to sign the deal, citing the unfavorable broadcast schedule, with many matches airing between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Beijing time. In addition, the changing media landscape has eroded the dominance of live TV broadcasting, as many fans now watch the matches via livestream and online videos. Guangming Daily summarized CMG’s stance in the negotiations:
No matter how exciting the matches are, broadcasting rights still need to return to rational pricing.
再好看的比赛，转播权也要回归理性价格。
After the initial shock, netizens were quick to back CMG, mainly due to a very practical reason—the Chinese men’s national team had failed to qualify for the World Cup. In fact, the team has now missed six consecutive editions. Chinese fans have long moved beyond disappointment and 恨铁不成钢 (hèn tiě bù chéng gāng, frustration that someone with potential is not living up to expectations), and instead adopted a more ironic and mocking tone when following the unfolding drama. Some compare it to a parent and school scenario:
The kid isn’t even in school anymore, so what’s the point of holding a parent-teacher meeting?
孩子都没读书了，还开什么家长会啊？
Others called out FIFA for “pricing according to the buyer (看人下菜碟 kàn rén xià càidié),” pointing to the significantly lower offer reportedly made to India, around 17.5 million US dollars. Others have noted that over the past two decades, broadcasting rights fees have risen sharply roughly every eight years, accusing FIFA of “exploiting buyers (敲竹杠 qiāo zhúgàng),” and setting “outrageously high asking prices (狮子大开口 shīzi dà kāikǒu).”
Many netizens voiced their strong support for CMG, which they have humorously nicknamed 央妈 (Yāng mā), literally “Mother CMG,” referring to its authority and official status.
Support Yangma in standing her ground to the very end!
支持央妈硬刚到底！
Faced with the prospect of not being able to watch the matches live on TV—a tradition since 1978 when the official national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), first broadcast the World Cup third-place playoff and final in Argentina—netizens flippantly declared:
China losing the World Cup broadcasting rights is like the mathematics world losing me—absolutely no loss at all.
中国失去世界杯转播权，就像数学界失去我，毫无损失。
Some even invoked the folk saying, 光脚的不怕穿鞋的 (guāng jiǎo de bú pà chuān xié de), literally meaning “the barefooted aren’t afraid of those wearing shoes”—someone with nothing to lose doesn’t fear those with something at stake.
Despite these claims, the World Cup has remained a hugely popular event in China over the past four decades, generating countless cultural moments in the collective memory of the Chinese audiences. For many, the most unforgettable event was when China qualified for the 2002 World Cup, the first and only time in history. When news broke, Titan Sports, the country’s biggest sports newspaper at the time, reportedly sold over five million copies nationwide, with “出线了！(Chūxiàn le! Qualified!)” splashed across its front page in bold red characters.
On game days, many students skipped class while some companies gave employees the afternoon off to cheer the team on with banners that read 中国队必胜 (Zhōngguó duì bì shèng), or “Victory to Team China.” Although they didn’t win a single match that year, the team is still remembered fondly by many supporters.
For devoted soccer fans, it came as a huge relief when, on May 15, China Media Group and FIFA finally reached a deal for the broadcasting rights to the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, as well as the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups, for an undisclosed sum, but many media outlets estimate it was around 60 million US dollars. CMG even released a note thanking netizens for their support:
The CMG expresses its gratitude to netizens across the country for their support. We promise to repay everyone by working even harder.
央视总台感谢全国网友支持，我们一定用更扎实的工作回报大家。
Despite the failures of the men’s national team, there are still signs of hope elsewhere. China finished as runners-up at the men’s 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup and secured qualification for the 2026 U17 World Cup. Across the country, various city leagues have also emerged in recent years, including Jiangsu’s famed “Suchao,” an amateur football league between the province’s 13 prefecture-level cities that has become a sensation among local fans.
Meanwhile, China’s women’s national team has long been one of Asia’s top sides, winning the AFC Women’s Asian Cup a record nine times, most recently in 2022. Therefore, netizens have also taken issue with the generalized term 国足 (Guózú), or China National Soccer Team, often associated solely with the men’s team; they joked, 以后谁强谁就是国足 (Yǐhòu shéi qiáng shéi jiù shì Guózú), or “In the future, whoever is strongest will be the national team.” Beneath the quip lies enduring support for Chinese soccer and the hope that one day, the men’s team can finally match the success of their female and junior counterparts.
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