Bamboo Goalposts: One Man's Quest to Teach the People's Republic of China to Love Football - Tapa dura

Rowan Simons has lived (and played football) in China for over twenty years and Bamboo Goalposts is his amusing and insightful account of what it's like to live, work and play there. He presents and works with Beijing TV and runs his own media company, but his real passion is getting China to embrace the social and health benefits of amateur football. Which isn't easy in a country where for decades it was illegal for more than ten people to congregate for the purposes of a recreational sporting activity. Rowan built a football pitch and clubhouse and now heads Club Football - http://www.clubfootball.com.cn - whose growing membership has given him genuine hope that by the time the Beijing Olympics begin in 2008 he might be getting somewhere. No other book communicates more clearly, more humourously and more affectionately what contemporary China is like when viewed through Western eyes. Rowan speaks fluent Chinese and his love of the country and its people shines off every page. He has lived there for so long that he understands what it takes to get ahead, but at the same time he is still very much a down-to-earth English football fan who just wants to share his passion for the beautiful game. Bamboo Goalposts is a personal odyssey inspired by the selfless pioneers of amateur football who took the game around the world in centuries past, but somehow missed China.

Rowan Simons is one of the most respected international experts in the Chinese TV industry with over twenty years' experience in PRC media production, distribution, broadcasting, advertising and media research. He is Chairman of OMI Group and an adviser to myriad Chinese media organisations including China International TV Corporation, the Provincial TV Stations Exchange Group and the City TV Stations Research Committee. He plays football at least once a week for Forbidden City FC and is the author of Bamboo Goalposts.