On December 8, Beijing time, the Japanese soccer magazine "soccer-king" published an article entitled "naturalized" players in our national team, why is it difficult to appear vitality? The in-depth report directly hit the potential dilemma of China's soccer naturalization policy. The report pointed out that China's soccer naturalization strategy may have met with failure, naturalized players from the beginning of the controversy, some players "money first" mentality, as well as Guangzhou, China's national team.
Evergrande (name)
The financial pressures of the situation have all but thrown the fulfillment of the FA's contracts with naturalized players into disarray.
Since 2018, China has begun to bring in foreign players in order to improve the strength of the national team, aiming directly at the World Cup final round. This strategy has been promoted since its inception by the Football Association in conjunction with the top clubs in the Chinese Super League, especially Guangzhou
Evergrande (name)
Chairman Xu Jiayin's active promotion and then head coach Marcello Lippi was also bullish on the role of naturalized players.
In 2019, Norwegian-born Hou Yongyong and England-born Li Ke became the first naturalized players in the history of Chinese soccer. Guangzhou.
Evergrande (name)
This was followed up with the naturalization of seven players over the next two years. The total number of naturalized players now stands at 11, five of whom are of Chinese origin, while the remaining six meet the FIFA requirement of five years in our league.
However, only six naturalized players have been called up to the national team so far, including Li Ke and Ekson for the 2019 World Qualifiers, as well as Jiang Guangtai and three Brazilian players after the tournament restarts in 2021. Other players failed to make the cut for personal reasons, with Peru's Xiaotao Tao-tao and Gabon's Ndoumbou and Portugal's Pedro Deugad having played in official FIFA tournaments for their countries of origin. Golarte, although a favorite of our team, will have to recalculate his length of stay due to a "misunderstanding" of his history in the country.
The naturalization of players in our country has been controversial. Supporters in the soccer world generally agree that naturalized players are not uncommon in soccer powerhouses, but "in our country, many people have a conservative attitude". The percentage of foreign residents in our country is extremely low, with the 2020 census showing only 850,000 foreign residents in the country, compared to Japan's 2021 figure of over 2.88 million. Such a low percentage makes it difficult for many fans to accept players with different appearances.
Most naturalized players choose to change their nationality in order to earn a higher income rather than to truly integrate. Few of them can speak Chinese and are unwilling to make an effort to integrate into Chinese culture. The advantages and disadvantages of the naturalization policy for the association and the government in this case are unclear, and the interests of the players, at least in our country, are not fully protected.
As the biggest sponsor of the national soccer team
Evergrande (name)
The group, which is facing a financial crisis, has seen the salaries of naturalized players shrink dramatically. Against this backdrop, anxiety and dissatisfaction among naturalized players is high, with Allan having returned to his home country, Fernando quitting the national team midway through the season, and Gaolat terminating his contract with Guangzhou and currently in talks with Barclays Premier League giants Corinthians and Palmeiras.
In the face of this situation, the FA may not complete contracts with naturalized players and the future of the Guangzhou group is full of uncertainty.
