U17 League Highlights
In the late afternoon of December 27, Shandong Taishan U17s beat Chengdu U17s 1-0 at Soca Base in Zhuhai, and then surpassed their strong rivals, Shanghai Shenhua U17s, to win the 2023 China Football Association Youth Championship Professional Clubs U17 Division (U17 League for short). The inaugural U17 League came to a successful conclusion, with a total of 155 exciting matches held over a period of 7 months. The high level of competition and the quality of training environment won the praise of all parties. However, behind this joy, the problems revealed in the competition should not be ignored. Of the 48 teams registered for the 2023 Tier 3 League, only 22 are participating in the U17 League this season. This has prompted us to think deeply about ladder construction and youth training, and perhaps this is also an important topic for professional clubs and youth soccer practitioners after the season.
Taishan led the table with a one-point advantage before the match, and on the afternoon of the 27th, the U17 League Championship Division had its finale, with Taishan U17s facing Chengdu U17s, and second-placed Shanghai Shenhua U17s taking on Liaoning Shenyang U17s. The suspense of the championship lasted until the last minute, which emphasized the intensity of the first U17 League. In the end, Taishan won by one goal, while Shenhua drew 2-2 with their opponents. With a three-point advantage, Taishan U17s successfully locked up the title.
To date, the inaugural Club U17 League has come to a successful conclusion with a total of 155 matches played.The 16 teams that made it to the final stage of the relegation and championship group competitions were involved in a maximum of 19 matches throughout the season. This is undoubtedly a great breakthrough for young players who had limited playing opportunities in the past. After rebuilding the Club U21 League last year, the CFA and CFA preparatory team added two more ladder tournaments for the U17 and U15 divisions this season, aiming to provide young players and coaches with opportunities for real-world training and expanding employment space. As one of the team's head coaches said, "If not for this tournament, our coaching team might have faced unemployment, and the players faced the same plight. Therefore, we are grateful to the organizers for building this competitive platform and value the opportunity to compete."
As we all know, due to the influence of the domestic soccer environment, both professional and youth soccer have faced a shortage of funds in recent years. The preparatory teams of the CFA and CFL faced similar challenges when launching the three-tier ladder league for professional clubs. For this reason, the tournament organizers carefully designed the system and schedule. For example, the U17 club league uses three stages: a knockout tournament, a north-south qualifying tournament and a national final, with the aim of allowing teams to play in close proximity to each other, saving time and financial costs.
Official information shows that a total of 22 clubs have registered for the U17 League this season, including 13 clubs from the Super League, 6 from the Chinese First Division and 3 from the Chinese Second Division. After the selection process, 16 clubs (10 Super League, 4 China First Division and 2 China Second Division) entered the national final stage. 27th morning, Shanghai Jiading Huilong U17 team won the seventh place in the group by defeating Beijing Guoan U17 team 1-0. This shows that no matter what level of the professional league, the participating teams have the opportunity to "beat the strong with the weak", and this kind of competition naturally stimulates the team's fighting spirit and enterprising spirit.
In addition to the 570 players, there is also a team of coaches dedicated to the club's youth training. Take the 38-year-old Taishan U17 team coach Zhou Haibin as an example, who was undisputedly honored as the best coach after leading his team to the championship. The victory not only enriched his coaching experience, but also laid a solid foundation for his future coaching career. High-quality tournaments provide many young grassroots referees with exercise opportunities. It is reported that most of the referees who enforced the U17 League were young referees from the B Grade or Champions League, except for three Chinese referees. Their enforcement through this tournament has accumulated valuable experience for future enforcement into higher level tournaments.
