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TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2020 14 China signals World Cup ambitions with new football stadiums AFP | Beijing Yuyang, a journalist for the Oriental Replacing them with gleaming, foot- Sports Daily. ball-specific arenas fits with Xi’s mas- hina is in the throes of a multi- Ji said it was a matter of when, not ter plan to transform the sport in the billion-dollar splurge on new if, China bids. country on and off the pitch. football stadiums, ramping up FIFA president Gianni Infantino said C ‘Soft power of stadiums’ ambitions to be a superpower in the in June that he would welcome a Chi- sport and host a World Cup as early nese bid to stage the 2030 World Cup, In Shanghai, which has ambitions as 2030. the next one up for grabs. of holding the Olympics, a 33,000-seat The building spree is taking place stadium for CSL side Shanghai SIPG despite the coronavirus pandemic Fit for a World Cup final is scheduled to be finished next year. which has brought much of the world Guangzhou Evergrande’s new stadi- Shanghai Stadium, the biggest arena to a standstill, ravaging economies and um made headlines because of its vast in the city and SIPG’s former home, is putting live sport on hold. scale and bold design. also undergoing major renovation. But with the outbreak receding in But it jarred because most sport in Ji said that while the Evergrande China, where it emerged in December, the world is shut down and econo - Group were likely paying for Guang- Chinese Super League (CSL) champi- mies, including China’s -- the second zhou’s new stadium, in some other ons Guangzhou Evergrande last week largest -- are reeling from coronavirus. instances it was a combination of the began construction on their 12 billion Moreover, Guangzhou is not holding club and local government. yuan ($1.7 billion) new home. Asian Cup games and the stadium will Professor Simon Chadwick said that With a capacity of 100,000, the lotus not be ready for the Club World Cup, aside from China’s World Cup aspira- flower-shaped stadium will for a time even though the tournament is poised tions, the rush on new stadiums sends A general view of the construction site of Chinese Super League (CSL) side Shanghai SIPG’s new trump Barcelona’s Camp Nou -- which to be put back from the summer of a message that “China is developing stadium in Shanghai is set for expansion -- as the world’s 2021 because of the pandemic. and becoming healthier and stronger. biggest football arena, once it is com- Critics also queried why a club “There’s something about the ico- pleted by the end of 2022. that averages about 50,000 for home nography and symbolism of the sta- Evergrande Group, a major property matches needs such a big arena. diums, particularly the Guangzhou developer founded by one of China’s “I think Evergrande may have two development,” said Chadwick, direc- richest men, said it also intends to considerations. First, a 100,000-seat tor of the Centre for the Eurasian build two more 80,000-seater stadi- stadium might come in handy if China Sport Industry at Emlyon Business ums in China. hosts a World Cup final or opening School. The country will have at least 12 ceremony,” said Ji. “This is a huge stadium, incredibly major new football stadiums two years “Another point is that Evergrande striking design, pictures of it have from now, said the state-run Southern will be able to make a statement by been carried across the world and Metropolis Daily, calling it “a new era saying that they have the largest people are commenting on it across for Chinese football”. professional football stadium in the the world. Most will be used for the newly world, with the largest number of “It’s almost the soft power of sta- expanded 2021 Club World Cup and spectators.” diums. China is trying to use these the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, but President Most stadiums currently used by hugely distinctive stadium designs as Xi Jinping has his eyes on the biggest Chinese football teams were built for a way of attracting people and atten- prize of all. multiple sports. They are falling into tion, of getting people to understand “I think China’s desire to apply for disrepair and facilities for fans are that China wants the same things that A general view of trucks gathered at the ground-breaking ceremony of Guangzhou the World Cup is very clear,” said Ji poor. other countries want.” Evergrande’s new stadium in Guangzhou (file photo) French Open champ turns shelf stacker during pandemic AFP | Berlin to “train three or four times a shopping trolleys with disin- reaching the semi-finals of the week” at a local tennis hall. fectant.” US Open. year after winning the The 2020 tennis season has Krawietz had been consider- Before that however, Krawietz men’s doubles title at been decimated by the corona- ing “a normal job”, but “thanks admits often having struggled to A Roland Garros, German virus and the French Open has to coronavirus, I now have the make ends meet, “some years I tennis player Kevin Krawietz been postponed from May until opportunity to do so”. finished in the red”. is helping out during the coro- September. He says the experience gives “Once I won a little over a navirus pandemic by stacking When not training, Krawi- him a greater “appreciation” of thousand euros in prize money shelves in his local supermarket. etz, 28, is busy stacking shelves his career as a tennis pro. for a tournament in Italy, that “I’ve been working for a dis- during the pandemic. Germany “My colleagues are sometimes was my weekly salary,” he added. count supermarket on a 450 eu- currently has 155,193 cases of in the shop from half past five to “I have to pay tax on that, take ros ($488) basis for a few weeks the virus and 5,750 deaths so far. fill the shelves,” he said. out travel expenses and the fee now,” Krawietz, who won the “I sort out the shelves, make “I, on the other hand, have had for a coach. There was not much 2019 French Open title with An- sure the sausage and cheese is the luxury of being able to turn left.” toine Mies, told a magazine. well stocked and sort out the my hobby into my profession.” He backed Novak Djokovic’s Munich-based Krawietz, empty boxes,” he explained. Krawietz and Mies enjoyed recent calls to set up an aid fund ranked 13th in doubles, says that “Last week, I was on security Kevin Krawietz (R) and his partner Andreas Mies (L) talk during the men’s a breakthrough year in 2019, to help low-ranking pros strug- as a pro he has a special permit duty at the entrance, spraying doubles final at the French Open last May (file photo) backing up victory in Paris by gling financially..

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