football fans hoping to protect themselves against the agony of elimination from Brazil 2014 – but
there will be no reprieve for England fans.
The company with headquarters in the southwestern city of Chongqing, is hawking the policies on China’s eBay-like website Taobao.
Under the promotion, which was launched this week, supporters of Argentina, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Brazil can purchase 8 yuan (75p) plans covering them in the event of on-field humiliation.
Policy holders will receive up to 49 yuan (£4.70) in compensation if their team is eliminated from the competition.
However, Chinese fans who plan to root for England have been excluded from the scheme on the grounds that Roy Hodgson’s team are almost certain to face heartbreak in Brazil.
“No, we don’t have a policy for England,” a salesperson told the Telegraph.
Asked if that reflected a lack of faith in England’s chances of advancing in the competition, the salesperson replied: “Ha, ha!” World Cup-themed insurance is
also being offered by Zhong’an Insurance.
Among its promotional policies are the “World Cup Hooligan Insurance”, which
offers payouts of up to 10,000 yuan to those who are attacked or robbed by rampaging thugs. The company is also promoting “World Cup Over-drinking” policy which offers compensation to those who inflict acute alcohol poisoning
upon themselves while watching the matches.
It was not clear if the policy was available to football fans outside of China.
The company has adopted the slogan: “Love the World Cup but also love yourself!” China’s national team has only ever qualified for one World Cup, in
2002, and will not be at this year’s event.
However, the country’s newspapers have been filled with stories about the growing Chinese obsession with football including plans to rename Beijing underground stations after World Cup teams and the tale of an artist who carved
the faces of stars such as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo into watermelons.
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