Chinese national football team players take part in a training session on November 18, 2024 in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

The revitalization of football industry has been one of the focuses of the State Council executive meeting on Monday, which called for efforts to advance and revitalize the nation's football development, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The meeting urged intensified efforts to implement measures aimed at advancing work on football development. The revitalization of the football industry is a key in transforming China into a strong sports nation, the meeting stressed, according to Xinhua. 

Meanwhile, the 2024 China Football Development Seminar kicked off in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Tuesday. The CFA president Song Kai was joined by investors and general managers from major Chinese topflight and second-tier clubs as well as representatives from the 16 key cities for football development across China in the seminar, which featured extensive discussions on topics including youth training, grassroots football, and the construction of football development hubs in key cities across the country.

Yang Xu, vice president of Chinese Football Association (CFA), said at a news conference on December 13 that the 2025 Chinese professional football league will fully promote and improve the development of youth training systems and reserve talent infrastructure, and create favorable conditions for young players to study and train abroad.

Yang said that efforts will continue to be made to tackle issues of match-fixing, gambling, and corruption with a stringent approach, aiming to purify the competitive environment of the professional league.

The meetings came amid the authorities' efforts to shake up the football industry after it was hit by scandals. Former national team head coach Li Tie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for bribery and former deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China Du Zhaocai was put behind bars for 14 years on the same day.

Earlier, Liu Yi, former secretary-general of the CFA, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a fined 3.6 million yuan ($496,000) for the crime of accepting bribes. 

China unveiled comprehensive reforms and development guidelines to promote youth football in March. 

According to these 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, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Promoting youth training is only part of the efforts to drive the development of Chinese football. The key lies in mass participation in the sport and in respecting the developmental principles of football, Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.