Long march to revive Chinese soccer begins with youth training

Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

Newly unveiled Chinese Football Association (CFA) chief Song Kai made his first public appearance at the national under-15 soccer final on October 22, where he said it will be a "long march" prioritizing youth development to revive Chinese soccer. 

Song's bold statement comes in a sharp contrast with some of his predecessors, who paid lip service to youth development but failed to deliver.

A recent report on Chinese flagship TV show Soccer Night showed that the CFA's expenditure on adult  national teams still constituted the largest portion of the CFA's spending, accounting for almost half of the total.

However, the performance of China's senior national teams - both men's and women's - in recent years has been disappointing, meaning that direct attempts to improve the national teams' results have proven unsuccessful so far.

The national teams are not just a representation of the country's soccer skill, but also a reflection of the country's youth development system, talent presentation, professional leagues and execution capabilities. 

But all Chinese soccer fans have witnessed these past few years were the struggles of the men's national team to get a win, as well as the early elimination of the women's first team at major international competitions. 

In terms of expenditures, spending on the national teams increased from 250 million yuan ($34 million) in 2018 to 279 million yuan in 2022, while spending on youth training and development decreased from 74.6 million yuan to 46 million yuan. 

Song acknowledged the significant disparity in the treatment of youth coaches compared to those of professional club teams and vowed to make a change. He stated that the CFA would formulate policies to encourage top coaches in China to get involved in youth development while also establishing a more robust youth competition system.

Previously, professional clubs were also encouraged to invest in their youth academies. Clubs were incentivized to give playing time to young talents in the top-tier leagues, providing the youngsters with valuable experience and exposure. In the long run, the clubs could also reap the benefits of their investments in youth development. However, in the end they only paid lip service to the rules.

For instance, the Chinese Super League clubs were required to have at least one young player to be on the pitch in every match, but this resulted in several clubs making instant substitutions to replace the young players after the game started. For reasons like this, Song ruled out these policies for domestic professional leagues.

The results of youth development initiatives are expected to be slow to materialize, possibly requiring a decade of continuous investment before any significant progress is visible. This demands a collective commitment from all levels of Chinese soccer, as only then can China hope to regain its competitive standing in Asian soccer.

This vision for youth development is not something that will see immediate success as it is not about winning trophies today but rather is a long-term strategy to rebuild Chinese soccer from the ground up, creating a sustainable, successful ecosystem for tomorrow.

Song is determined to improve the quality of coaching at the youth level as he said the CFA has started introducing new policies to bring in more coaches who would like to dedicate themselves to youth development, as well as hiring international coaches for domestic youth programs.

He noted that the CFA will get into discussions with the Asian soccer governing body the AFC and world soccer governing body FIFA on the possibilities of hosting the under-23 and under-17 versions of the FIFA World Cups in China as they would be a booster to develop youth soccer. 

A more stable domestic soccer league for young players is also expected to be established. Only by participating in high-level competitions regularly can players continuously improve. 

In September, the Chinese under-15 boys' team won the East Asian under-15 championship, defeating Asian soccer powerhouses Japan. The team squad has been pinned to spearhead the future national teams. 

The overhaul of Chinese soccer is an arduous task, and Song and his new CFA leadership fellows know it wouldn't yield immediate results. It requires a shift in the mindset of everyone involved. 

The key to their success will be patience, persistence, and a shared belief that, in soccer, as in life, the most valuable accomplishments are those that take time to nurture and grow. Things must be done step by step as any one-size-fits-all approach or impatience won't work.