Weifang became the focus of attention on October 22, Beijing time, where the second session of the China Youth Football League U15 group final was staged. Shandong Taishan U15 team defeated Evergrande Soccer School U15 team with a score of 2-1 after two rounds of fierce battles. As the match came to an end, the new Football Association President Song Kai showed up at the award ceremony to present the trophy to the youngsters of the Taishan team.
Only six days after being elected chairman of the FA, Song Kai made his first public appearance, marking the first time the new FA team has traveled to Beijing for research. In contrast to the high profile before and after taking office, Song Kai and his team chose "silence is golden", in addition to the central media reports, few Song Kai's individual voice. Although there were rumors that Song Kai would attend the CBA opening ceremony, it ultimately proved to be a false alarm. As a result, when Song Kai would show up became a hot topic of discussion among fans and media. That is, until the night of Oct. 22, when the youth tournament was held to put an end to the issue. "To revitalize soccer, youth training is the key. In the future, the CFA will put youth training at the center." Facing the camera, Song Kai elaborated on the significance of his first public appearance. Regarding youth training, Song Kai pointed out that, on the one hand, it is necessary to incentivize high-level coaches to devote themselves to the cause of youth training. "If the competition results are poor, the primary problem is training. We lack excellent coaches in charge of youth training. The disparity between the treatment of youth coaches and professional teams is a reality that needs to be changed urgently. The CFA will guide top coaches to devote themselves to youth training through policies." On the other hand, it is necessary to build a stable and high-level youth competition system, "At the age of 12, Chinese players are at the same level as Japanese and Korean players, but the gap is obvious at the age of 16, which mainly stems from the differences in the competition system. This is mainly due to the difference in the competition system. Players need to grow up by participating in more high-level competitions. Our competition system is not stable, and we must keep the overall framework unchanged while making reasonable adjustments." From these two points, it is clear that Song Kai adheres to the work philosophy of the traditional sports system, but he does not believe that soccer needs to return to "tradition". On the contrary, he believes that Chinese soccer is not open enough and should continue to expand its openness. "The opening up of Chinese soccer is inevitable!" Song Kai said, "At present, China's soccer youth training covers professional clubs, professional sports teams, social organizations and campus soccer. The CFA should first consolidate the foundation, but it is unrealistic to return completely to the sports team model. Through the policy orientation of the National Games, it will improve the enthusiasm of provinces and cities and increase the support for soccer." With external help, topics including importing, sending and naturalizing players can be explored. There is a gap between our understanding of youth training and that of developed soccer countries, so we should be humble and learn. The internationalization of youth training is crucial. According to statistics, there are 137 registered foreign teachers in China, and the internationalization of youth coaches will be improved in the future. Youth leagues are also considering relaxing nationality restrictions to increase exchange opportunities. In addition to expanding the openness of youth training, Song Kai also believes that the openness of the league should be further expanded. He believes that many industries have proved that only a fully competitive market can produce good and cheap products. Now that the AFC has relaxed restrictions on foreign aid and the Saudi league plans to increase the quota of foreign aid to 10 per team, Chinese soccer should follow suit and open up as well. It is clear from this that Song Kai wants to push Chinese players to be more competitive by raising the level of competition and allowing the more capable to come to the fore. However, he believes that concrete policies on these ideas need to be fully discussed and need not be rushed. He suggests spending a year for all parties to fully discuss and clarify their ideas before implementing them gradually. As for China's soccer and league policies, which have previously sparked public controversy, Song Kai admits that such policies will not be repeated in the future. "In the future, the CFA will not be able to introduce policies such as 'national team league' and 'U23 player policy'. The CFA must meet the expectations of society, and this is the primary bottom line of my tenure." Song Kai said firmly.
