I read in your newspaper a commentary about China's soccer reforms recently. The most exciting piece of news over the past week might have been the introduction of the comprehensive soccer reform plan. The long-anticipated plan envisages a major administrative overhaul of China's soccer system, including measures such as separating the Chinese Football Association from the General Administration of Sport of China, nurturing soccer talent from an early age, and boosting related infrastructure to revive the sport that has been frustrating Chinese soccer fans for years.

Long before soccer was independently invented in Europe, Chinese were playing a game called cuju that involved kicking a ball through a net.

Today China may well have the world's largest number of soccer fans. In their eyes, soccer brings with it happiness and health. Unfortunately, the world's most popular sport became a tool for utilitarian purposes in China.

In China, many parents will not choose to send their children to soccer schools no matter how much passion the kids show for the sport. Parents decide to take children to learn to play soccer largely because of their lackluster performance in academic studies, the same as letting them learn to cook or drive a crane.

Therefore, a great number of soccer players drop out of elementary or middle school and lack higher education, which can partly explain why they could hardly resist temptation and end up getting caught up in various scandals when they become famous players.

Plus, in the eyes of some grass-roots families, learning about soccer might be a way to change the fate of their children. Such a mentality is already prevalent in South America and Africa. To some, this adds glamour to the game, as shown in some movies like Goal! The Dream Begins released in 2005.

But this is not a good thing for the healthy development of soccer because China's football circle has become a vanity fair with players chasing fame and fortune. Players and spectators put too much emphasis on winning and losing and how much will be earned in a game.

Repeated defeats in international matches are therefore inevitable, which has prompted the Chinese government to formulate the overall reform plan for soccer players.

This plan provides a comprehensive and systematic framework and needs further improvement with specific details. Refraining from distorting the nature of soccer is key to keeping the sport on the right track.

The greatest success of China's soccer reform lies in making it part of the life of every soccer lover.

Wang Xiaonan, a freelance writer based in Beijing