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China targets 50 million new footballers by 2050

Decade-long plan aims to increase participation

by Our Sports Desk

Seeking to close a glaring gap in its international sporting prowess, China announced plans yesterday an ambitious football development programme that envisions 50 million players joining in the game by the end of the decade and the transformation of the country into a “first-rate major footballing power” by the middle of the century.

To achieve those goals, China will put into service 70,000 football pitches, both newly built and others refurbished, according to a comprehensive document released by the Chinese Football Association.

The initiative especially targets long-neglected youth programmes, with more than 30 million primary and secondary schools to play regularly, and the training of 10,000 coaches.

It would also more than double the number of specialised academies to 20,000.

The plan is to be rolled out in three stages, with the short term goals set for 2020, midterm for 2030 and long-term for 2050.

No figures were given on how much the government plans to spend on the project.

The aim, the document says, is to “strive to realise the goal of becoming a first-rate major footballing power, realise the all-around development of Chinese football, fulfil the football dream of the sons and daughters of China and fulfill our obligations to world football.”

Despite its success in other sports at the Olympics and other global competitions, China has been a perennial underperformer in international football.

Its men’s team has qualified for only one World Cup finals competition, in 2002, and is given poor odds of making it to Russia in 2018.

A recent £200 million splurge to bring big-name foreign talent to the Chinese Premier League has raised the level of play among top-flight domestic clubs.

It’s far from clear, though, whether their skills will rub-off on local talent.

Of the 16 goals scored in the league’s opening round, not one could be attributed to a homegrown Chinese player and the influx of overseas goal-scorers could further reduce local players’ chances to shine.

Despite that, President Xi Jinping has made boosting Chinese football’s fortunes a top sporting priority, ordering the cabinet to help guide the plan and demanding results.

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