Prior to the 1990s, sport in China, as in some countries of
Eastern Europe, was government-funded, not market oriented. Some
excellent athletes quit at the height of their careers because they
were uncertain about life post retirement. The situation began to
change in 1994 when Chinese soccer became the first sport to take
the professionalization road and in its wake similar reforms were
carried out in basketball, volleyball, table tennis and weiqi. The
process brought with it prosperity; sport associations became
profit-making entities and a club system came into being;
professional leagues formed, improving China's sports environment;
and commercial management systems took shape. The
professionalization of sports has encouraged the emergence of a
sports management market and business-structured systems. Sports
club operations now cover ticket sales, advertising, club
transfers, commercial matches, television broadcasting and other
commercial activities.?
Another achievement of the reform is that some Chinese athletes
have joined foreign professional leagues. For instance, basketball
star Yao Ming joined the American NBA, whist Yang Chen and Sun
Jihai play in European soccer leagues.
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