BEIJING: China's football season kicks off this week with hopes of a resurgence for the beautiful game after former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and rookie coach Fabio Cannavaro put the league among the world's biggest spenders.
Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs spent 122.2 million euros ($165 million) during the recently closed winter transfer window, almost double last year's figure, second only to the English Premier League (186.8 million euros) and ahead of Italy's Serie A, according to statistics from German website transfermarkt.
Socceroo Tim Cahill, once of Everton, is the star name among the 47 foreign imports -- including many Brazilians -- who will double the number of overseas players in the competition.
An invigorated national team who reached the quarter-finals of January's Asian Cup and top level political support are also giving fans hope the game has bounced back after years of turmoil.
Chinese President Xi Jinping -- who state media describe as an "avid" fan -- backed a "football reform plan" last week.
The policy will see future stars trained from birth, reports said, as China seeks rapid development of talent and rumours swirl it could bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
The positive atmosphere around Asia's most watched football league stands in contrast to previous years when Chinese football was riddled with corruption and the national team regularly humiliated on the pitch.
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