ABSTRACT
Within the space of just a few years, China has turned its sports system round from a centrally-planned structure to a more diverse, market-orientated system. This is in keeping with the government’s general policy of reform. In sporting terms, the government has been determined to distance itself from its previous role of being ‘sole provider’ and today increasingly expects sport to adopt a ‘pay as you play’ approach. At the highest level, this has resulted in the development of professional sport on western lines-with Chinese characteristics. Of course, there has long been professional sport in China, as in other, former Communist countries, where ‘state amateur’ was a euphemism for ‘professional’, in that the athlete received money, housing, food, medicine, and sports clothing from the state, in return for a full-time commitment to sports training and performance. In China, provincial sports teams are the outcome of the special sports schools and are a regular form of paid employment for those who rise through the ranks of competitive sport. Beyond the provincial team is the national squad that, for the few, leads to Olympic and international glory. There is little doubt that such a system produces gold medals and it is a system that, under different guises, has been adopted in many countries, both East and West. But as the reforms in China, promoted by Deng Xiao Ping, have continued, a new focus has emerged in the last few years that is introducing professional sport. Commercial sponsorship and ticket sales now provide the financial underpinning to the system that was formerly provided by the government.
