Shooting for the stars: youth football in China from freemexy's blog
Yu Bofan dreams that one day he will sign for a major European football club like Manchester United or Barcelona.The 11-year-old, who has been playing since he was six, recently missed out on receiving a scholarship to the Chelsea Academy after making a shortlist of three. Yet the setback has not dampened his passion for the game.Children football in Shanghai
“I like playing because it’s good fun and it’s all about teamwork,” said the Beijing youngster, who like his hero, Lionel Messi, plays up front.Nurturing young football players is becoming big business in China, where teaching the sport will soon be compulsory on the national curriculum. President Xi Jinping has said he aims to make his country a football powerhouse and wants 20,000 schools to have pitches and other facilities by 2017. Although China’s national women’s team reached the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup in Japan, the men’s team have failed to reach World Cup finals since 2002 and are again struggling in the qualifying stages. Officials and observers have blamed the country’s lack of international success on poor funding and infrastructure at the grass-roots level. However, slowly but surely, investment from European football clubs and retired international players in after-school academies is helping to rectify the situation. Ronaldo, who helped Brazil win two World Cups before retiring in 2011, recently announced plans to open branches of his football academy in Beijing, Shanghai and Mianyang in western Sichuan province.
We’ve brought the Ronaldo Academy to China to help the country in its dream to become a football powerhouse,” he said during a promotional event in Beijing last month. “We’ve just started the project but in a few years I’m sure it will produce good players.”
According to the academy’s official website, setting up a school requires an initial investment of about £43,800. “Our business model consists of introducing academies inside public and private schools,” said the project manager, Paulo Swerts. “Average fees are between £80 and £120 a month.”
Many European clubs, including Chelsea and Liverpool, have also launched similar ventures in recent years. Traditionally, China’s sports sector has been under tight government control, which has limited private investment. Yet the country is now encouraging companies, including those based overseas, to get more involved.
“China needs the expertise of … foreign clubs if it is to become a truly great footballing nation,” said Romain Yao, vice-president of Oceans Sports and Entertainment, an advertising and marketing agency.
With the infrastructure starting to take shape, experts have forecast that the sports industry will be one of China’s fastest-growing industries in the next few years and will generate huge revenues.
“By 2025, the Chinese government aims to create a sports industry worth more than £530 billion, which would account for 1 per cent of its GDP,” said Professor Simon Chadwick of the University of Salford.
“I like playing because it’s good fun and it’s all about teamwork,” said the Beijing youngster, who like his hero, Lionel Messi, plays up front.Nurturing young football players is becoming big business in China, where teaching the sport will soon be compulsory on the national curriculum. President Xi Jinping has said he aims to make his country a football powerhouse and wants 20,000 schools to have pitches and other facilities by 2017. Although China’s national women’s team reached the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup in Japan, the men’s team have failed to reach World Cup finals since 2002 and are again struggling in the qualifying stages. Officials and observers have blamed the country’s lack of international success on poor funding and infrastructure at the grass-roots level. However, slowly but surely, investment from European football clubs and retired international players in after-school academies is helping to rectify the situation. Ronaldo, who helped Brazil win two World Cups before retiring in 2011, recently announced plans to open branches of his football academy in Beijing, Shanghai and Mianyang in western Sichuan province.
We’ve brought the Ronaldo Academy to China to help the country in its dream to become a football powerhouse,” he said during a promotional event in Beijing last month. “We’ve just started the project but in a few years I’m sure it will produce good players.”
According to the academy’s official website, setting up a school requires an initial investment of about £43,800. “Our business model consists of introducing academies inside public and private schools,” said the project manager, Paulo Swerts. “Average fees are between £80 and £120 a month.”
Many European clubs, including Chelsea and Liverpool, have also launched similar ventures in recent years. Traditionally, China’s sports sector has been under tight government control, which has limited private investment. Yet the country is now encouraging companies, including those based overseas, to get more involved.
“China needs the expertise of … foreign clubs if it is to become a truly great footballing nation,” said Romain Yao, vice-president of Oceans Sports and Entertainment, an advertising and marketing agency.
With the infrastructure starting to take shape, experts have forecast that the sports industry will be one of China’s fastest-growing industries in the next few years and will generate huge revenues.
“By 2025, the Chinese government aims to create a sports industry worth more than £530 billion, which would account for 1 per cent of its GDP,” said Professor Simon Chadwick of the University of Salford.
The Wall