ABSTRACT
Professional sport in China has a relatively short history. Up until the mid-1990s, sport in China remained the prerogative of the government. China was and still is one of the countries that have a ministry-level government department that is solely responsible for sport affairs ranging from elite sports to sports for all to sport business regulation and promotion. In June 1992, at the National Football Conference, as a flagship of the sport reform, it was decided by the National Sports Commission (NSC) that the Chinese Football Association (CFA) should become a real governing body of football with office and professional staff, and professional clubs and leagues should be established. Since 1994, as part of the sports governance structure reform, management centers of sports were established one after another for sports governance. A major challenge regarding sport development in general and professional sport in particular has a lot to do with the centralized governmental sport administration system.
