On October 8, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) officially announced that Shui Qingxia, who had just led the team to win the gold medal in women's football at the Shaanxi National Games, would not be joining the new round of head coaching competition. Meanwhile, the name of Zhao Junzhe, the leader of Chinese Super League team Guangzhou City, appeared in the list of known candidates.
Recalling the Tokyo Olympics, China's women's soccer team lost all three group stage matches, and despite saying he has no intention of voluntarily resigning, the contract expired without the possibility of renewal.
The selection and recruitment conditions of the FA clearly require candidates to hold professional level coaching certificates and have a background of professional or specialized soccer players, especially those with national team experience are preferred. The nationality requirement excludes the participation of foreign coaches.
Competitors must meet one of three criteria: having coached a national team at the U19 level and above in the CFA, or having been the head coach of a women's premier league team, or having been the head coach or assistant coach of a top league team.
Applications will be accepted until 24:00 on October 12, and the FA will qualify the applicants and submit them to the selection panel to finalize the interview list. Interviews are scheduled for October 15-16, at the FA headquarters, and the process includes a personal statement and a question-and-answer session.
It is unclear how many people will be in the running, but Shui Qingxia has made it clear that she will not be signing up, while Zhao Junzhe is expected to join. Shui has led the Shanghai women's soccer team to a championship, while Zhao has extensive experience with the CFA and Liaozhu.
Shui Qingxia said coaching the Chinese women's soccer team is an honor, but not her only goal. Despite being a candidate many times, she has always remained humble.
Zhao Junzhe has held important positions in the Football Association and has shown talent in the club's management and coaching staff. Guangzhou City's support for him reflects his potential as a Chinese soccer talent.
The top management of the FA had been interested in inviting a young coach from a Chinese Super League club to take over the women's soccer team, and that coach was none other than Zhao Junzhe. His concern and love for women's soccer made him a potentially ideal candidate.
The new women's soccer manager will face the challenges of the Asian Cup and Asian Games, and will need to comprehensively improve the strength of the team and build a long-term plan in the development of women's soccer.
