Taiwan plans to join World Cup in 2038

TAIPEI - Taiwan plans to participate in the World Cup football tournament by 2038, a sports official said Saturday.

Lu Kun-shan, director of the Chinese-Taipei Football Association, said the World Cup in South Africa should stimulate Taiwan to develop its football capabilities.

The association hopes to launch a 12-team professional league in 2018, attend the under-17 (U-17) World Cup in 2019, the U-20 World Cup in 2023, and the World Cup in 2038.

“Once Taiwan has professional football, it can create 50,000 jobs and bring $313 million in revenues,” he said in the statement posted on the association’s website.

However, analysts said it would take great effort for Taiwan qualify for the World Cup, because in FIFA’s world rankings, Taiwan - listed as Chinese-Taipei - ranks 167th among the 202 countries and regions listed.