In recent years, football has become an important field for institutional change and political steering in China. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has placed football at the centre of its national rejuvenation agenda, seeking to transform the country into a powerful sports nation. However, this ambitious plan has triggered a series of contentious interactions between party-state actors, international and local socio-economic actors, who often have to strike a delicate balance between political expectations, market dynamics and human rights.

This talk delves into the intricate world of Chinese football politics and offers a comprehensive analysis of how the sport has become a locus for achieving broader social, economic and political goals. It examines the implications of the Chinese party-state’s institutional transformation efforts towards ‚top-level design‘ in this policy field, which aims to centralise and hierarchise policy-making authorities. It also uses detailed case studies to investigate the Chinese party-state’s attempts at political steering, including international sport diplomatic interactions as well as interactions with Chinese social and economic actors.