China football program faces challenges in race to top

Insight

China has introduced an ambitious plan to help improve the sport of football, also known as soccer, with the goal of becoming a powerhouse in the game.

CCTV’s Mike Fox reports.

China’s plans are in addition reforms launched in March 2015 that announced the separation of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) from the General Administration of Sport.

Some have criticized the relationship between the CSA and the the Chinese Football Association Super League, also known as the CSL, which is the highest tier of the CSA.

“I think we need a long process to change this gradually. Solving this problem needs joint efforts from the Chinese Super League Holding Company and the CFA,” CFA Vice President Wang Dengfeng said. “The direction of the issue is clear — that we should let clubs play the key role in their markets.”

China’s football market has seen a big boom in the last year. The Chinese Super League sold a five-year television rights package for a record 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) to media company Ti’ao Dongli, and during the last winter transfer window, the CSL spent 2.4 billion yuan ($370 million) on new players.


 

Chinese teenagers train with foreign football coaches

Two teenage soccer teams from Shanghai Nanyang High School are now training with foreign coaches as part of a new youth soccer camp by the city’s education commission to promote the sport in high schools.

CCTV’s Cui Huiao reports.

Retired Serbian professional football player Rade Kokovic has shifted into coaching and he’s been helping young players in Serbia and at the Shanghai Youth Soccer Training Camp in China.

There are two things that young Chinese players should work on, Kokovic said.

“Number One: Grom today’s session is passing because we feel passing is an essential part of football games,” Kokovic said. “And the second thing is mentality. We want to keep them sharp, keep them mentally focused, concentrated all the time, so they don’t make unnecessary mistakes.”

The high-school students have been playing football since they were little, and they hope that improving their game can help get them into a good university and maybe even make them a football star.

“I have been playing soccer since primary school. I love it,” student Bao Jian said. “Soccer teaches me quick reaction and team spirit. Given I am a senior now, I just want to keep this hobby and play it in college.”

So far, 280 schools in Shanghai have joined league. City officials hope to set up youth training camps in all 16 districts, to train 3,000 students.


 

Author Luis Aguilar on the state of Chinese football

CCTV America’s Mike Walter interviewed Author of “FIFA Nistra” Luis Aguilar about the challenge Chinese football organizations are facing in recruiting talent and gaining traction in a world that has been dominated by other teams.