In the third stage of the hotly contested U17 China Youth Football League, Chinese Super League teams suffered back-to-back defeats or draws in the early stages, while on the contrary, high school teams and ordinary youth training clubs repeatedly frustrated Chinese Super League teams.
Just concluded the U20 Asian Cup qualifier, China's U20 national team with 2 wins and 1 loss into the main round. Leader Shao Jiayi revealed in an interview that the selection range for the age group was just under 500.
Can this year's inaugural China Youth Football League be a hope for the future of national soccer?
The First China Youth Football League
In the Weifang Boys U17 category, Beijing Guoan won the E/F group championship, but its road to promotion is quite bumpy: the third round of the group stage to 0-1 lost to the Shandong Normal University, E/F group final and Jinan Licheng No. 2 Middle School drew, but in the penalty kicks to 5-3 win, and finally won the championship.
A total of 12 teams competed in the Tangshan tournament, with Tsinghua High School defeating Hebei and Cangzhou Lions by scores of 3-0 and 2-0 respectively, and NPC High School defeating Tianjin Jinmen Tiger by 1-0. Cangzhou Lions drew with Xingtai No. 3 Middle School and Shijiazhuang No. 9 Middle School, while Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School Experimental School also exchanged draws.
Hebei, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Cangzhou Lions, the three Chinese Super League ladder teams, all failed to win the first place in the group, and the final rankings were Hebei 5th, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers 6th, and Cangzhou Lions 8th in that order.
Guangzhou U17s beat Jiangxi Fuzhou Guangchang Yincai Football Club U17s 2-1, while Shanghai Seaport U17s drew with the Affiliated High School of Shaanxi Normal University in the third round of the group stage, and Dalianers won the title but drew with Dalian Read Line Football Club in the semifinals.
This phenomenon can be interpreted both positively and negatively.
On the one hand, many clubs in the Chinese Super League have problems with their ladder construction.
On the other hand, professional club ladders, FA teams, youth soccer clubs, and school soccer have shown some prosperity.
The Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs' ladder teams have some problems, but the overall level remains high. However, there has been a rapid development of FA teams, youth clubs and purely school-based teams, which will boost the level of youth soccer in China.
China's U20 national team (National Youth Football Team, 2003/2004 age group) qualified for the U20 Asian Cup main round with 2 wins and 1 loss in the U20 Asian Cup Qualifier Group A match held in Saudi Arabia. Shao Jiayi said that the selection range of players in the 2003 age group was only about 500.
Fans have questioned this statement as shirking responsibility. In fact, the reason why the selection range of the national youth team is only 500 is that there are only 26 teams participating in the U19 category of the 2022 Chinese Youth Football League (2003/2004 category), and with 20 players per team, the number of participating players is about 500.
In addition, some universities also have players in this age group, but most of them do not have teams, let alone participate in the Chinese Youth Football League, and therefore cannot be scouted and selected.
Jointly organized by the State General Administration of Sports, the Ministry of Education and the CFA, the China Youth Football League aims to break down the barriers to the integration of sports and education, and to provide a high-quality competitive platform for Chinese youth soccer players at all levels.
Of particular note: this event is highly valued by the central government.
Chen Xuyuan participated in the briefing
The inaugural tournament of the 2022 Chinese Youth Football League.
The tournament is divided into elementary school divisions (5 age groups, one age group for first and second grade, and single age groups for the other grades), middle school divisions (U13 and U15 age groups), high school divisions (U17 age group), and college divisions (U19 age group), for a total of 18 age groups for both men and women.
Elementary school group matches are organized by municipalities themselves, with provincial matches held where available. The junior high school, high school and university divisions, on the other hand, implement national registration, with the Chinese Super League ladder team, campus soccer, youth training clubs and football association teams competing on the same field.
The most difficult divisions are the U13 and U15 divisions, which require qualifiers and finals. The number of places for teams in the finals is 64.
The first China Youth Football League is still under way. In the elementary school category, which is organized by municipalities themselves, the Boys' U13 and Boys' U15 finals have decided on the top four, the Boys' U17 category is under way, the Boys' U19 category has completed the first stage of the tournament, the Girls' U15 national finals are under way, and the qualifying rounds for the Girls' U17 category have already taken place.
It should be noted that the first China Youth Football League officially landed at the end of May and kicked off at the end of July, with a very tight lead time.
In the Boys' U13 and Boys' U15 categories, for example, many places did not hold qualifiers but designated teams to participate in the tournament, leading to uneven quality of teams in the tournament and occasional big scores.
However, going into the knockout stage, the quality of play has improved significantly, with many matches being played at a high level.
In the second edition of the China Youth Football League, there is more ample time for qualifiers to be held around the world, and the quality of teams participating in the finals will then be significantly improved.
According to the Chinese Youth Football League, in the future, as the tournament matures, the allocation of places in the qualifiers will be more popular and fair, and the group divisions will be more reasonable.
Due to the tight preparation time, the first China Youth Football League also saw inconsistencies in the understanding of the rules of the game and occasional problems with the playing field, but these were mostly individual phenomena.
Youth Soccer Tournament Scene
And it was very reassuring to see the level of commitment of all the players involved, as well as the referee's calls, which were largely problem-free.
Many highlights emerged from the first Chinese Youth Football League.
First: Chinese youth soccer has improved significantly at all levels.
U17 category, the local football associations, amateur youth soccer clubs and pure campus soccer team's promotion is very obvious; U13 category, Chongqing youth training eight U13 team in the group stage of the pressure of Beijing Guoan, Dalian people and Shenzhen U13 ladder, Shizuishan City Sports School U13 team into the eight; U15 category, Chongqing Fengzhong, a pure campus soccer team killed into the eight, and Shandong Taishan U15 team is in the heat of the battle.
Technical and tactical level, also presents a diverse range of characteristics, some based on defense, some high-pressure pressing, some advocate pass and control, the mutual sharpening of different technical and tactical, will promote the overall level of China's youth soccer enhancement.
Second: The organization of the competition was not bad.
The match organization was methodical, the referee organization was excellent, and the broadcasts were a highlight, with 8-camera and 5-camera broadcasts allowing more fans to watch the matches.
Third: the system of competition has been revolutionized.
In the U19 category, for example, the tournament is divided into three stages: group stage, grouping and lifting, and qualifying. the U13 and U15 categories have a smaller playing field and more intense rivalry, which helps to improve the players' ability to use their skills and tactics in a fast-paced game.
China Youth Football League still faces many difficulties, such as financial difficulties. However, it is believed that as the tournament gradually matures, more sponsors will pay attention to this huge youth tournament platform in the future.
Young fans at a youth soccer game
The future of Chinese soccer cannot be seen right now, but this kind of game must be kept up, and only if it is kept up, there will be hope for the future.
