Alipay Foundation heads up 'unprecedented' China women's football project
Chinese women’s football has received a major boost, with Ant Financial’s Alipay announcing it will provide 1 billion yuan ($145.43 million) in funding for a 10-year project.
Charitable organisations the Alipay Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation and Joe Tsai Foundation (PRC) say that the money will make the beautiful game “more sustainable and accessible to girls and women across the nation.”
It will go towards the China women’s national football team, injury prevention and treatment, the career development of retired footballers, technical development and coach education, and youth development. The Alipay Foundation will fund the bulk of the initiative, with the use of the funds jointly managed by all three contributors and the Chinese Football Association.
Cai Yong, an executive committee member of the Chinese Football Association, called the funding “unprecedented,” adding that “women’s [football] is not just a sport, but also a power social cause that encourages girls and women to pursue their dreams and ambitions.”
The Chinese women’s team have traditionally been more of a force on the international stage than their male counterparts. They were runners-up at the 1999 women’s World Cup and fourth at the 1995 tournament. At the 2019 World Cup, currently taking place in France, they reached the last 16 where they lost 2-0 to Italy. The men’s team, however, have qualified for the World Cup only once, in 2002, when they were knocked out in the group phase after losing all three games.