China issues reform, development guidelines for youth football

China unveiled a comprehensive reform and development guidelines to promote youth football on Monday.

The guidelines were released through a document called "Implementation Guidelines on the Reform and Development of Chinese Youth Football", which was jointly issued by 12 departments, including China's State General Administration of Sport, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and the Chinese Football Association.

Students in a football training session at a primary school in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, July 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Chen)

Several principles about the development of China's youth football have been set in the guidelines.

China should adhere to promoting the popularization of football to all young people, persist in the integration of sports and education, and cultivate well-rounded football talents. Furthermore, China should stick to the combination of popularization and improvement, form a scientific work pattern of promoting and popularizing campus football, adhere to the combination of the "Whole Nation System" and market mechanism, and mobilize various forces to develop youth football, the guidelines stated.

According to the guidelines, by 2025, China will preliminarily establish a growth channel for young players, and form a football talent training system integrating sports and education. Additionally, the Chinese Youth Football League will become the top youth football tournament in China with the widest coverage, the largest number of participants, the highest level of competition, and the greatest social influence.

By 2030, it is hoped that the population of youth football will significantly increase, and the youth football competition and training system be with a reasonable structure. It is also hoped that the performance of male and female youth national teams will rank among the top in Asia.

According to the guidelines, by 2035, the national youth football team will be achieving excellent results in international competitions, providing strong support for the comprehensive revitalization of Chinese football.

The guidelines have also proposed several measures, which include that efforts should be made to promote the prosperity of youth football culture, innovate the football reserve talent training system, improve the youth football competition system with the Chinese Youth Football League as the backbone, promote the comprehensive and coordinated development of youth football through the construction of "Key Football Cities" and the pilot project of youth training in China's western region, according to the guidelines.