The upper level decision is determined by the economic background. Soccer, as a mass sport, is an urban entertainment culture. It is born in the city and has a lot to do with urbanization. China's current level of urbanization has reached 50%, which may not be enough. Even at 50%, there are many new cities entering the city at the stage of being homeless or renting. Since China's urbanization process is mainly real estate expansion, but land becomes the most expensive cost in this process, developers are very embarrassed to develop land. As a result, there is no place left to develop large soccer stadiums. Even pristine soccer fields or open spaces (where children play wild ball) in the city center are used for real estate development. Due to the lack of land availability in the new urbanization, soccer has lost its ground. But how do people meet for sports soccer? With a small site and low construction cost, a multi-purpose basketball court is the best choice.
Site 28 meters by 15 meters, concrete floor are available, low maintenance costs, usually also can be parked or used for square dancing and other functions. So the market is giving everyone basketball, so soccer has declined. In the 1980s and 1990s, the level of soccer in China was even higher. This was because during urbanization, soccer entered civic life as a fresh culture and there was a lot of open space. At that time, land was not worth much. Two bricks or iron were placed on the land. The goal was good. Therefore, the market supplied soccer products. You argue that basketball was a high cost sport at the time, that it required concrete, that the land could not be played on, and that the cost of a basketball hoop was more expensive than a soccer hoop. At that time, people with tons of open space in Chinese cities big and small could play. Now, when land becomes the most expensive cost, a 105 * 68m site can appreciate too much. So now there is no space for soccer in this city. Europe, USA and Japan have reached 90% urbanization rate. All facilities have been improved and land is still very expensive.
However, it is the infrastructure that determines the appreciation of land for housing, including wider grounds such as soccer fields and more comfortable lawns. People also have more money to spend on sports. Soccer is therefore a middle-class sport whose development has a lot to do with urbanization. At present, the level of soccer in China is mainly due to the low level of urbanization and the prominent conflict of land supply in the process of urbanization. In short, if Chinese soccer reaches the level of frequent entry into the World Cup, China's urbanization needs to reach 70%. According to the Blue Book, China's urbanization will reach 70% by 2030, so China will be able to enter the World Cup frequently. Everyone knows that Brazil and Argentina have high level soccer, but aren't they all developing countries? For historical reasons, South American countries have long been integrated into globalization. Both countries have urbanization levels of 86.5% and 92% respectively. As a result, both countries have high levels of soccer. China's rivals Japan and South Korea are also over 80% urbanized. Therefore, Chinese soccer is lagging behind due to incomplete urbanization process and land loss for soccer due to distortion of land prices. Therefore, Chinese soccer needs to meet several economic indicators to reach a higher level. That is, 70% urbanization and a per capita income of more than 20,000 US dollars.