A Chinese media outlet splashed the sensational headline, "Blatter dashes China's hopes of hosting the 2018 World Cup," yesterday, drawing widespread attention.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Sunday that the football's world governing body was considering changing the policy of rotating the World Cup hosting between regions and the new practice may start from the 2018 tournament, which will, if the decision is made, be left open to worldwide bidding.

According to the rotation system, Asia is to host the 2018 event.

What surprised me more in this news headline is the hint that China has the hope of hosting the World Cup in 2018. Was there any sign in the global football arena that China is favoured or even rumoured to be a likely candidate for the event aside for the fact that theoretically any country has the right to apply? And did China, and its competent authorities, ever express a desire to host the 2018 tournament?

I don't believe anyone who has even a little knowledge of the current state of Chinese football would think our standard could improve in just a few years to a level where we could convince FIFA to consider China as a host when it meets in 2012 to decide on the 2018 event.

On Monday, the day after Blatter made the remark about the World Cup hosting system, FIFA announced the current world standings China ranks 84th.

The recent poor performance of the Chinese team in the preliminary matches of the Asian Cup has once again tarnished its image. Even war-devastated Iraq and city nation Singapore could inflict a hard time on us, fans said online. How could we even consider applying to host the World Cup?

So why does the media make such a splash about the fictitious "Chinese hope?" The answer lies in the subconscious "big power" complex in many of our nationals.

We have won the rights to host the Olympic Games in 2008 and the World Expo in 2010. A World Cup held on Chinese territory would certainly add to national pride. Frankly, I have the same dream. And I believe most of my compatriots harbour the same dream. There is nothing wrong with dreaming. But we may turn ourselves into a laughing stock if we indulge in further talk about something that is a remote possibility with nothing tangible in sight.

The strong growth of China's economy in the past two decades has prompted some of our nationals to develop a sense of importance. Some of the corrupt customs in traditional Chinese mentality, such as taking mianzi (wealth or social status-related honour), have begun to inflate. Replacing one's mobile phone with a fancier one and anticipating the pleasure of hosting the World Cup both stem from this mianzi mentality.

The pursuit of hedonist pleasure and a luxurious lifestyle has developed among part of the population. It was reported that "there are as many as 13 million active luxury goods purchasers on the Chinese mainland."

That figure sounds extraordinary, for it is larger even than the entire population of many countries in the world. However, it does not necessarily mean that we Chinese have become really rich. In fact, it only accounts for 1 per cent of our population. And the fact is that the majority of Chinese people are still struggling towards the goal of xiaokang (a moderately well-off life).

China's per capita annual GDP (gross domestic product) is US$1,700 while most developed countries' annual GDP is between US$5,000 and US$10,000. We have a long way to go before we can afford mianzi more than xiaokang.