Faith in Chinese Football

For years， Chinese football fans have suffered the pain and embarrassment of watching their men’s national team fail consistently. China was eliminated before the final stages of the 2014 FIFA （International Federation of Football Associations） World Cup qualifiers， and hasn’t made it to the AFC （Asian Football Confederation） Asian Cup quarterfinals since 2004. According to FIFA statistics released in October， the Chinese national team ranked 97th out of the 207 competing globally， and is the ninth in Asia.

“It’s really a shame that China， with a population of more than 1.3 billion， cannot find 11 people that can do a better job of playing football，” Chen Wanyuan， an advocate for supporting a proliferating football culture， told Beijing Review.

Chen， 62， has been engaged in football for nearly 50 years， first in north China’s Shanxi Province and then in Beijing. Now， he works for Yinchao Football Club， a training organization for children in Beijing. According to Chen， the blame for the dismal showing of the national side should be placed squarely at the door of the China Football Association （CFA）， the top football body in the country.

“The football authority is shortsighted as it focuses on the national football team only for a quick success， but usually gets the results that run counter to its wishes，” Chen said.

Core issues

The facts back up Chen’s claim. Since the first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930， the Chinese team has qualified for the final tournament only once， in 2002. That year the event was jointly held by China’s neighbors， Japan and South Korea， though China’s national team lost all three of its matches at the event， failing to score a single goal.

Chen said that only if the CFA looks ahead and focuses more of its efforts on training talented players from younger generations， can it ensure a national team that performs.

Chen played football on behalf of Beijing when he was in primary and junior middle school. “I played football when I was a boy， and I personally know that childhood is a very important period for football players if they want to lay a solid foundation for the rest of their career，”he said. During the years he worked in Shanxi， he coached children playing football whenever he had free time.

In 1990， Chen came back to Beijing and worked at the Sports Commission of suburban Tongzhou District and later for the CFA， where he was in charge of promoting football among children and young people. Two years ago， he retired， but he continued his work as a coach training young footballers.

“China will never achieve success in its national football team unless it popularizes the sport among children，” Chen said. “Though the CFA realizes the problem， no one in the association ever does the work needed in a down-to-earth way.”

Insufficient exposure to football while children are still young has a direct correlation to poor football proficiency among adults. “We cannot find enough children that are interested in football and we cannot find enough football pitches for them. Schools focus too much on students’ studies and ignore their physical development，” Chen said.

According to a survey conducted in 18 primary schools in Beijing’s Haidian District by the city’s education and sports authorities in May， only four of the schools have standard football pitches and only three have football courses in their curriculum.

“The schools should reduce students’homework load so that they can go out and play. Otherwise， Chinese football can never develop，” Chen said.

At the 27th Universiade held in Kazan， Russia， from July 6 to 17， the Chinese football team， consisting mainly of student players from the Beijing Institute of Technology， managed draws with both Mexico and Ireland， although they were defeated by Russia， returning without a single win.

“The Beijing Institute of Technology has one of the best football teams of all the univer- sities in China， but it was still unable to win a single match at the Universiade. This really indicates the level of Chinese football，” Chen commented.

Positive efforts

China has done a lot of work in recent years to promote football on school campuses. Starting in 2009， the General Administration of Sport earmarked 40 million yuan （$6.54 million） annually from sport lottery funds to promote football on campus nationwide. This year， the figure was increased to 56 million yuan （$9.15 million）. Local governments are also required to contribute the same amount.

In 1984， Beijing launched the Baidui Cup football tournament for primary and middle school students， an initiative that Chen said provides a good model to promote football among children and young people.

“Having only this one initiative in Beijing is definitely not enough. We need more，” Chen said.“Actually， China has many good models for developing its football， such as the Jianlibao Football Team， but we have failed to go far enough.”

In 1992， the CFA and Guangdong Jianlibao Co. Ltd. selected 22 promising football players aged between 13 and 14 years old and sent them to Brazil for seven years of training. This was widely considered an excessively bold measure， but it also built up much hope in the Chinese people that their football dreams could finally come true. However， soon after they returned in 1998， the CFA was unable to make use of the players as they were still contracted to the football clubs they belonged to before going to Brazil. This meant they were not eligible to play for the Jianlibao Football Team， rendering the project a failure.

“The CFA should find ways to continue the Jianlibao model，” Chen said， adding that they should pursue and adhere to a long-term plan and stop continually altering what they do.

Though Chen is not satisfied with the work of the CFA， he is delighted to see many football clubs training youngsters， like Yinchao， springing up nationwide.

“These clubs can help get children interested in football and give them the benefit of professional coaching，” Chen said. Besides Yinchao， Chen is also employed by several football clubs as a coach.

Talking about his students clearly makes Chen happy. “Many of my former students are working for football administration authorities and the CFA， and many others are very good football players，” Chen said. A string of players such as Wang Xiaolong and Zhang Xinxin， all of whom are key players in China’s Super League teams， were coached by Chen.

“Most importantly， coaches at youth football clubs should be professional， otherwise children will be misled，” Chen added.

In appointing these professional coaches， Chen emphasizes that a good football player is not necessarily a good football coach.“Authorities should examine every coach and grant certificates only to those who are qualified，” said Chen， who has gained an A-level certificate， the highest coaching qualification in China.

“Teaching more youth football courses is my dream， and I will pursue it throughout my life，” Chen said.