10 July,2010 02:28 PM IST | | Agencies
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.
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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.
