Editing China national football team (section)

===As Republic of China (1913–1949)===
[[File:Chinese olympic football team 1936.jpg|thumb|left|Chinese Olympic football team in [[Berlin]], 1936]]
China's first-ever international representative match was arranged by [[Elwood Brown]], president of the Philippine Athletic Association, who proposed the creation of the [[Far Eastern Championship Games]], a [[multi-sport event]] considered to be a precursor to the [[Asian Games]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ocasia.org/Game/GamesL1.aspx?9QoyD9QEWPfemU/arvY96w== |title=Far Eastern Championship Games |publisher=ocasia.org |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805014731/http://www.ocasia.org/Game/GamesL1.aspx?9QoyD9QEWPfemU%2FarvY96w=%3D |archive-date=5 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He invited China ([[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]) to participate in the inaugural [[1913 Far Eastern Championship Games]] held in the [[Philippines]], which included [[association football]] within the schedule. To represent them, it was decided that the winner of the football at the [[National Games of China|Chinese National Games]] in 1910 should have the honour to represent the country, where it was won by [[South China Athletic Association|South China Football Club]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/chinahist.html |title=China 1910 |date=22 October 2009 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405172628/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesc/chinahist.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The club's founder and coach Mok Hing (Chinese: 莫慶) would become China's first coach and on 4 February 1913 in a one-off tournament game held in the [[Manila]] he led China to a 2–1 defeat against the [[Philippines national football team]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beyondnewsnet.com/20141202/12450/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601201602/http://beyondnewsnet.com/20141202/12450/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 June 2022 |title=中国人都是神中国队666给我跪下我叫叶志诚 |publisher=beyondnewsnet.com |date=2 December 2014|access-date=23 August 2016}}</ref>

The political unrest of the [[Xinhai Revolution]] that mired China's participation in the first tournament, especially in renaming the team as Republic of China national football team, did not stop [[Shanghai]] being awarded the [[1915 Far Eastern Championship Games]]. Once again South China Football Club, now known as South China Athletic Association won the right to represent the nation. This time in a two legged play-off against the Philippines, China won the first game 1–0 and then drew the second 0–0 to win their first ever tournament.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fareastgames15.html |title=Second Far Eastern Games 1915 (Shanghai) |date=28 January 2011 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=15 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315132046/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fareastgames15.html |url-status=live }}</ref> With the games being the first and only regional football tournament for national teams outside [[United Kingdom|Britain]], China looked to establish themselves as a regional powerhouse by winning a total of nine championships.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fareastgames.html |title=Far Eastern Games |date=12 December 2011 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=26 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726161944/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fareastgames.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Chinese Football Association]] was founded in 1924 and then was first affiliated with [[FIFA]] in 1931.<ref name=FIFA1>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=chn/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618005855/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=chn/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 June 2010|title=China PR|publisher=FIFA}}</ref> With these foundations in place China looked to establish themselves within the international arena and along with [[Japanese national football team|Japan]] were the first Asian sides to participate in the [[Football at the Summer Olympics]] when they competed within the [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Germany]]. At the tournament China were knocked out within their first game at the round of 16 when they were beaten by [[Great Britain men's Olympic football team|Great Britain Olympic football team]] 2–0 on 6 August 1936.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/mensolympic/berlin1936/matches/round=197043/match=32344/index.html |title=Olympic Football Tournament Berlin 1936 > Great Britain – China PR 2:0 (0:0) |publisher=fifa.com |access-date=23 August 2016 |archive-date=17 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917192924/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/mensolympic/berlin1936/matches/round=197043/match=32344/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 7 July 1937 the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] officially erupted, which saw the relations between China and Japan completely eroded especially once it was announced that Japan would hold the [[1938 Far Eastern Championship Games]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ocasia.org/game/GameParticular.aspx?P9tviDmwp/5FinVzEIKang== |title= OSAKA 1938 |publisher= ocasia.org |access-date= 23 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160805205154/http://www.ocasia.org/Game/GameParticular.aspx?P9tviDmwp%2F5FinVzEIKang=%3D |archive-date= 5 August 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The tournament would be officially cancelled while Japan held their own tournament called the [[1940 East Asian Games|2600th Anniversary of the Japanese Empire]], which included the Japanese puppet states [[Manchukuo]] and the collaborationist [[Wang Jingwei regime|National Reorganised Government of China]] based in occupied [[Nanjing]]. But none of the top Chinese players competed in the Japanese Empire anniversary games.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jap2600-40.html |title= 2600th Anniversary of the Japanese Empire 1940 (Tokyo) |date= 29 November 2012 |website= [[RSSSF]] |access-date= 23 August 2016 |archive-date= 30 January 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230130104434/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesj/jap2600-40.html |url-status= live }}</ref> None of the games during the Second Sino-Japanese War are officially recognized and once the war ended on 9 September 1945 China looked to the Olympics once again for international recognition. On 2 August 1948 China competed in the [[Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics]] where they were once again knocked out in the last sixteen, this time by [[Turkey national football team]] in a 4–0 defeat.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/mensolympic/london1948/matches/round=197052/match=32359/index.html|title= Olympic Football Tournament London 1948 > Turkey – China PR 4:0 (1:0)|publisher= fifa.com|access-date= 23 August 2016|archive-date= 25 December 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191225000426/https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/mensolympic/london1948/matches/round=197052/match=32359/index.html|url-status= live}}</ref> When the players returned they found the country in the midst of the [[Chinese Civil War]]. When it ended, the team had been split into two, one called the People's Republic of China national football team and the other called Republic of China national football team (later renamed [[Chinese Taipei national football team]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Guoth |first=Nick |editor-last1= Nauright |editor-first1= John |editor-last2= Parrish |editor-first2= Charles |title= Sports around the World [4 volumes]: History, Culture, and Practice |publisher= ABC-CLIO |date=April 6, 2012 |pages=190 |chapter= Association Football, China |isbn= 978-1598843002}}</ref>