No tags yet.
By • Hanu Trivedi
China is one of the world’s fastest growing countries, both economically and socially. Although the country has shown off its strength in various fields, China’s impact on the footballing world has been minute, until recently. In this article, we track China’s growth in football, with specific focus on the cultivation of young footballers.
Background China has been vying to dominate as many different fields as it can after its independence in the late 40’s. When talking about sports, the nation has established its superiority in badminton, table tennis and a few other sports. Despite football being the country’s most popular spectator sport, it has traditionally remained relatively unsuccessful in making a major impact on the beautiful game. The national team has only qualified for one World Cup, and has never won an Asian Cup, which is disappointing for a country of China’s size and stature. Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, China has seen a massive footballing revolution. The President himself is a huge football fan, and has set ambitious goals for the nation’s football team to achieve in the coming years. Xi aims to create a sports industry worth 500 million pounds by 2025, which is the cause of the sudden and meteoric rise of Chinese football, and in the number of Chinese businessmen investing in sports clubs worldwide. Getting on the Premier’s good side is any Chinese investor’s aspiration, and contributing to the sports industry is one great way to do so. 50 million citizens registered in professional or semi-professional clubs by 2020, 100 million kids under the age of 6 to be coached daily at school, 50,000 football schools by 2025; these are just some aspects of Xi’s football masterplan. Football Schools Football schools are a common sight in countries trying to develop youth footballers. These schools are run by professional clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and follow a certain method of training to ensure player growth. China in particular has been very active in inviting these academies to the country. Recently, Brazil’s striker announced that he would bring his academies to China, in order to help the nation’s dream of becoming a powerhouse. Chelsea and Liverpool are also amongst the big clubs investing in the country. The most common business model in China is for European clubs to send coaches while partners in the country take care of the facilities. An example of this is the Winning League Luis Figo Academy. The academy has more than 15 centres and about 4000 students. Many in China believe that the best way China can become a great footballing nation is by taking the help of foreign nations and clubs, who are already established in the football world. Power Shift For long, the Chinese Football Association has been in-charge of everything football related in the country. The CFA has been considered unfit for the purpose throughout its life, and a lot of people have called for a change in the system. After the creation of the China Schools Football programme in 2009, the CFA’s role in Chinese youth football is practically non-existent, which has made for better reforms in the field. Back when the programme started, it was dysfunctional as both the Ministry of Education and the CFA were in control of it, meaning that there were two minds involved in everything taking place under the program. The educators, have also considered sport as a distraction, saying it diverts the mind of the youngsters from studying, which they claim is more important. Since then, the Ministry of Education has complete control of the program, and an entire part of the curriculum is focused on football. The government is frustrated, understandably. China is the second biggest economy in the world, it has made numerous leaps since independence, turning itself into a superpower, but it still can’t break through into football, despite trying many times. One would think that in a country like China, with all its rigid laws, a lack of infrastructure and corruption, that these schools would also turn into rigorous and ruthless institutions acting as a factory for footballers. Surprisingly enough, this has not happened, the government is still determined to make China a footballing superpower, without making these schools just another chore for the children. One Man to Handle it all. Every programme or scheme requires an individual that drives it ahead. For the CSF, the Chinese have taken the help of an American, Tom Byer. Originally from New York, Byer moved to Japan in 1985 as a footballer, and has stayed in Tokyo ever since. Although Byer’s playing career is mediocre, he has done wonders in coaching the game, revolutionizing the Japanese youth football scene. The American single-handedly grew Japan’s footballing capabilities with his grassroots schemes over the course of the past 2 decades. Shinji Kagawa and Japan women’s captain Homare Sawa are products of Byer’s academies. To lead the CSF programme, Byer was employed by the Chinese, and he has undoubtedly been a massive help. The 56 year-old has a huge fan following in East Asia, with numerous comics, books and children’s shows referencing or involving the man. This following means that Byer is truly an inspiration for the youth, hundreds of kids join him at training rallies on weekends, almost like the followers of a cult. Tom’s work in Japan warrants his popularity, he brought sponsors, clubs, schools, ministries, parents together and created a unique “ecosystem” to nurture young footballers. Byer claims that the Chinese strategy is like no other, the only thing required is public cooperation, and China will become a footballing powerhouse in little to no time. Byer’s main objective in China is to do something similar to what he did in Japan, make the parents and the public appreciate football and give room for it to grow. He has staged a number of mass events in the nation since, and they’ve all been a huge success. The effects of his work are noticeable in China, as more and more kids go down to the nearest park for a kick of the ball. China’s parents also act as a barrier to this, being obsessed with their child’s studies, the folks often disapprove of their children being taught a sport. Byer says that most in China consider football as a kicking game, where pace and physicality triumph, which is wrong. He says that football is just like mastering an instrument, where you practice until you are perfect at it. Here’s to a bright future of the millions of young footballers in China. We hope that one day, they make it on the big stage….