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The story of China-Africa relations is one of the most important geopolitical and geoeconomic developments of the past two decades. This book uses the interaction between China and African countries in football to critically examine how engagement through football reproduces unequal outcomes but also positive developments on both sides. A multidisciplinary cast of China and Africa scholars demonstrate how political, economic, social and cultural issues play out through football, illuminating the motivations, processes and consequences of the evolving relationship between China and African countries. From nation states, corporations, institutions, clubs, players and fans, this book shows how the global game runs through Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria, Egypt, Beijing, Guangzhou and the Chinese Northeast, with its ramifications for geopolitics, South-South relations, international sports governance, diplomacy, soft power, international media, labor migration and transnational fandoms.
List of contents
List of Figures - List of Tables - Jonathan Sullivan: China-Africa Relations through Football - Simon Chadwick and Jonathan Sullivan: A Geopolitical Economy of Sport Approach to China-Africa Engagement in Football - Xiufang (Leah) Li/Zhao Alexandre Huang: China-Africa Relations: Intention, Aspiration, and a shared Future through the means of Football - Mahfoud Amara/Youcef Bouandel: China's Comprehensive Engagement with North Africa and Middle East: Economic, Political, and Sports Relations - Peizi Han: Sport, Migration and History: An Examination of African Female Football Migrants in China - Wycliffe W. Simiyu Njororai: Transient African Male Football Players: Participation and Impact in Chinese Super League - Unwana Samuel Akpan/Chuka Onwumechili/Kalema Elizabeth Meggs: Chinese Football League Framing: Perception of Nigerian Football Fans and Football Labor Migration to China - Christopher Edyegu: Leveraging African Talent to Achieve China's Football Dreams - Angela Lewis: China's Sport Diplomacy: StarTimes and Sport Broadcasting Rights in Africa - Tobias Ross: Dalian Shide FC's Lion Cub Program: Player Recruitment and Naturalization - Charlie Qiuli Xue/Guanghui Ding: Building Socialist Cosmopolitanism: China's Stadium Diplomacy in Africa, 1970s-1980s - Notes on Contributors - Index.
About the author
JONATHAN SULLIVAN is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. He is former Director of the China Policy Institute and co-founder of the China Soccer Observatory. He is the author with Lev Nachman of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy under Threat (2024).
TOBIAS ROSS is a Researcher at University of Nottingham. His research interests are in political economy, state-business relations, and Chinese football, including a doctoral thesis on state-business relations in Chinese football. Additionally, he is working as international marketing manager in football.
ANGELA LEWIS is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University, China. She is author of the 2024 book Chinese Television and Soft Power in Africa.
