3. Chinese football made steady progress

It is for the first time that three clubs from the Chinese Super League made it to the last 16 of the AFC Champions League when Shanghai SIPG, Guangzhou Evergrande and Jiangsu Suning all progressed through their respective groups in May.

China came from behind to beat Qatar 2-1 in the last round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September and finished fifth in the group. Despite failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals in , the Chinese men's team coached by Italian Marcello Lippi impressed the fans with their tenacious fighting spirit.