Courtesy:
www.fifa.comClick here to read the Official Match Schedule!Chinese TaipeiThe year 2004 will see another chapter written in the annals of Asian football when Chinese Taipei hosts the FIFA Futsal World Championship. Although football, let alone futsal, is not as popular as baseball on the island, the public are eagerly awaiting the tournament in order to show off all the fervour that has gone into organising the event.
Founded in 1936, the Chinese Taipei Football Association joined the ranks of FIFA in 1954. Since then Chinese Taipei teams have played in three official FIFA competitions: The Men's Olympic Football Tournament Rome 1960, the FIFA Women's World Cup China 1991 and the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship Canada 2002.
Futsal has been around for less than a decade on the island and this will be Chinese Taipei's debut in the finals of the premiere international tournament.
The desire to progress and develop the sport will make the championship a "unique event", according to Chang Chan-Wei, the association's General Secretary.
Chinese Taipei has staged one AFC women's tournament previously: the Women's Football Championship in 2001.
Football honours1954: Asian Games Men's Champions 1958: Asian Games Men's Champions 1960: Played in Rome Olympics - Men's Tournament 1977: Asian Women's Football Champions. 1979: Asian Women's Football Champions. 1981: Asian Women's Football Champions. 1989: Asian Women's Football Runners-up 1999: Asian Women's Football Runners-up 1991: Played in FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China 2002: Played in FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup finals in Canada
FactsChinese Taipei has a population of 22.5 million.
Its surface area is relatively small: a mere 36,000 square kilometres.
The official government language is Mandarin, which is used by the media and in education. Taiwanese is also spoken.
84% of the population are Taiwanese (including Hakka) - a kin or a branch of Chinese ethnics, mainland Chinese make up 14% and aborigines 2 of the people
The official currency is the New Taiwanese Dollar (NT$).
The region's main religions are Buddhism and Taoism.
The most popular sport on the island is baseball, closely followed by martial arts and golf.
LocationThe island of Chinese Taipei is situated to the east of the Chinese mainland. Its strategic location approximately halfway between Korea and Japan to the north and the Philippines to the south make it a perfect starting point for any East Asia destination. The East China Sea borders its northern coastline and to the east you have the Philippine Sea. The western and southern shores are bordered by the Formosa Strait and the Bashi Channel respectively.
GeographyChinese Taipei is made up principally of the Formosa Island, Pescadores Island and those of Matéu and Quemoy. Despite a surface area of only 36,000 square kilometres, Chinese Taipei offers sun-soaked beaches, mountain forests and tranquil countryside. Formosa Island, with its almond-like shape, is known for its outstanding mountains and tropical Amazon-like climate. Formosa was the name given by the Portuguese during the colonial age. However, nowadays it is still very popular, for it means beautiful island.
EconomyOnce an agricultural economy, Chinese Taipei is now a dynamic capitalist economy with diminishing government intervention. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatised. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 8% during the past three decades. Exports, 52% of which is made up of electronics, electric and machinery equipment, have grown even faster and have provided the primary impetus for industrialisation. Inflation and unemployment are low; the trade surplus is substantial; and foreign reserves are the world's third largest.
HistoryThroughout the reign of the Qianlong Emperor during the Qing Dynasty, a number of people from Fujian, a coastal province on mainland China, began to immigrate into present-day Chinese Taipei to develop and farm the land. They planted peach trees, which in the full bloom of spring, were so beautiful that the people named the land "Taoziyuan" which in Chinese means "Peach Garden."
