"When it comes to our beloved sport, China is not just the sick man of Asia. It's the sick man of the world. Our football tragedy is epic. In the late 1970s, when China resumed international play, after decades of self-imposed isolation, our national men's team has made it to the World Cup only once," Professor Xu of Kalamazoo College lamented.

"On a deeper level, many Chinese - especially Chinese men - are unhappy, deeply frustrated and prone to strong, deep-rooted pangs of helplessness and abandonment. And it's all football's fault... Millions of Chinese fans link football to their national sense of honor. But when your team isn't very good, that linkage between nationalism and sport can mean tumult and even tragedy," said Professor Xu.

Match fixing scandals in the Chinese league are widely reported in the international media with some referees dragged to court and others jailed. Reuters reported in February 2012 that a prominent former football boss and a referees' director were handed long jail terms for bribery and match-fixing in China as part of a massive anti-graft drive aimed at cleaning up the corruption-blighted local game. Yang Yimin, a former deputy chief of the CFA, was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison, while Xinhua News Agency reported that CFA's former referees' director, Zhang Jianqiang, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for taking bribes.

No football heroes

In many football nations, the football association is independent and free from governmental control but that seems not to be the case in China. Many also think that the lack of concentration on sports in schools, with the state deciding which sports the children should engage in and the lack of infrastructure coupled with the lack of football tradition like that found in Europe, has contributed to the problem of China's poor men's performance.

Chinese clubs are now signing African international stars like Nicholas Anelka and Didier Drogba as there is the argument that China has no superstars who can attract fans and become role models at the same time for children and upcoming players. This is where the deal with Ghana to help young players can have a positive effect.

Ghana recently played the Chinese national team and drew 1:1, which is a sign of improvement considering Ghana's pedigree in local and international football levels. Club football in Ghana is strong, listed among the top five football clubs in Africa by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. Since 2009, telecom giants Globacom (owned by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga) have sponsored the Ghana Premier League. The Nigerian-based telecom giants signed a five-year deal with the Ghana Football Association worth $23 million. The sponsorship deal covered both the Ghanaian Premier League as well as the country's national teams. More so, in April 2009, Optimum Media Prime (OMP) secured television production and broadcast rights to the league all of which has given fans confidence in the state of Ghana football.

Even though Ghana's men football has been to the World Cup only twice, they impressed the world by reaching the quarter finals in South Africa 2010. Women's football however has not been impressive. They are second in Africa but compared to the Chinese women's football, there's much to learn. Having won the Women's World Cup once, Ghana has decided to learn from China and bring its women's football to a World Cup winning level.

Many are confident that the deal between the two nations will not only strengthen bilateral ties, but will also boost football and bring joy and satisfaction to football fans and enthusiasts in both countries.