Nation sets 2050 goal for soccer turnaround

TOP: DAVID MOIR / REUTERS; CHINA DAILY GRAPHIC

With China still struggling to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the country has set a goal of becoming a world-leading soccer power by 2050 through youth promotion and league development.

A long-term development outline was announced on Monday aimed at China becoming a dominant soccer power in Asia by 2030 and a leading world competitor two decades later.

This follows an ambitious soccer reform plan inspired by President Xi Jinping in March last year. Xi wants to see China qualify for the World Cup finals again and eventually host and win the prestigious tournament. China qualified for the finals for the first time in 2002.

Although reaching the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, China appears unlikely to make further progress, being an underdog in a 12-strong pool with only four places to Russia available.

Despite the national team's slow progress, the government encouragement has seen the return of a moderate level of youth participation in the sport and has raised the domestic league's profile internationally.

A four-tier school league system has been set up by the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Football Association, with more than 100,000 school matches organized last year, involving 2.7 million student players.

The Chinese Super League, the country's top professional competition, lured foreign players worth $373 million in transfer fees to play during the 2016 season. The league's broadcasting rights for the next five years sold for a staggering 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) last year.