Chinese football is in the deep water zone of reform. In response to the reform of youth football, from school football courses and grassroots youth training to the improvement of professional leagues and national team systems, the State Sports General Administration and other departments have given specific goals.
Image source: Jiemian News/Fan Jianlei
Jiemian News Reporter | Qin Siyue
Interface News Editor | Ren Xuesong
On March 25, 2024, Beijing time, twelve departments including the State Sports General Administration issued the “Implementation Opinions on the Reform and Development of China’s Youth Football” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”).
The main objectives of the Opinions are divided into three stages.
By 2025, we will promote the construction of characteristic campus football schools in accordance with the planning goals and establish a normalized assessment and exit mechanism. By establishing five national high-level football reserve talent bases and a group of provincial and municipal men’s and women’s football youth training centers, the China Youth Football League has become my country’s youth football league with the widest coverage, the largest number of participants, the highest competitive level, and the greatest social influence. In top competitions, the growth channel for young players has been initially established, and a football talent training system that integrates physical education and education has been initially formed.
By 2030, my country’s youth football population will have increased significantly, the youth football competition and training system with a reasonable structure, orderly connection, and clear levels will operate stably, and the results of the men’s and women’s youth national teams will be among the best in Asia.
By 2035, youth football management capabilities will be comprehensively improved, the competition training system will be further improved, and the youth football national team will achieve excellent results in important international events, providing strong support for the overall revitalization of Chinese football.
(Picture source: Jiemian News/Cai Xingzhuo)
From school football courses, grassroots youth training, to the improvement of professional leagues and national team systems, the “Opinions” have given specific goals.
In order to achieve these goals, the “Opinions” proposed six key tasks and policy measures. The first is to continue to strengthen the popularization of youth football, the second is to innovate the football reserve talent training system, the third is to strengthen youth football training, and the fourth is to improve youth football. Competition system, the fifth is to strengthen the training of professional football talents, and the sixth is to implement youth football guarantee policies.
It is not difficult to find that there are many new ideas.
For example, the second major initiative (innovating the football reserve talent training system) emphasizes the leading role of professional football in youth training.
In fact, football youth training is nothing new in our country. As early as the early 1990s, the China Jianlibao Youth Team composed of well-known players such as Zhang Xiaorui and Shang Yi became the first batch of Chinese players to study abroad for youth training. Many of the 29 Chinese players sent by Jianlibao have become the “golden generation” of the Chinese men’s football team.
(Image source: Shanghai Shenhua)
It is a pity that after the “golden generation” grew up, a relatively mature youth training system was not quickly formed in China. For a long time, it still relied on the echelon construction of various clubs. For example, Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Luneng and other old Chinese Super League clubs have always had their own Youth training camp or youth training echelon. Such professional football clubs may become more involved in the joint training of young football talents from social training institutions and schools in the future.
In addition, for most student players in non-developed cities, who usually play in school teams, they not only have difficulty accessing the youth training echelons of professional clubs, but also lack financial and hardware support. They also lack a stage: there is no campus league. , even if these young players from local areas are extremely talented, they do not have an upward channel to show themselves.
Therefore, this “Opinion” also emphasizes the need to improve “the youth football competition system.”
(Image source: Chinese Football Association official website)
At present, the China Youth Football League has been held twice, covering all school years in primary schools, junior high schools, high schools, and universities. The characteristic of this competition is to break down the barriers to participation. In addition to the traditional club youth training echelon and local youth teams, sports school representative teams, school representative teams, social youth training institutions and other teams can sign up to participate. Young players with outstanding performance will receive improvement training and have the opportunity to enter the national teams of all ages.
Youth leagues and campus leagues are extremely effective ways to discover potential young players. At this point, Japan and South Korea, two neighboring countries, have been experimenting for many years.
The Japan High School Football League was founded in 1917. There are about 4,000 teams participating in this event across Japan. The long history also keeps people enthusiastic about participating in campus football: public data shows that the attendance of the 100th National Competition Finals reached 42,747, far exceeding the average number of spectators per game in the Japan J League. Players such as Yuya Osako and Takeshi Shibasaki who are currently in the Japanese national team, as well as Keisuke Honda, who shined in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, all came from the Japan High School Football League.
South Korea has also established junior, secondary, higher and university football leagues under the guidance of its national football association to continuously cultivate young football talents. Among them, outstanding players such as Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min were given the opportunity to go to Europe and reached the threshold of the top league in their youth.
During the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in 2024, Gao Zhidan, director of the State Sports General Administration, said that the reform of football has entered deep water. “We must calm down, start from childhood, give full play to the advantages of the national system, make good use of the vitality of the market mechanism, and promote The healthy development of campus football will promote the large-scale growth of youth football talents and consolidate the foundation of reserve talents. We must start from the grassroots level, actively support and cultivate the development of youth football clubs, and give more support and support to social football in terms of policies, funding, talents, etc. Ensure and promote positive interaction between social football and professional football.”
To wade through deep waters and revitalize Chinese football, the foundation of youth football must be laid.