China's soccer industry is now experiencing an unprecedented period of challenges, with fierce competition on the field and uneven player strengths, which makes the national team less competitive on the international stage. In addition, numerous clubs are struggling to operate due to financial woes. Recently, there have been repeated announcements of clubs being dissolved due to broken financial chains, which is undoubtedly a severe test for the soccer association.
In the face of this series of problems, the Football Association is actively seeking changes. However, it will take time to see how effective they will be.
In terms of financial reform, the latest news from the Football Association is that there will be strict limits on player salaries. It is reported that the annual salary of local players is capped at 5 million yuan before tax, while the annual salary of foreign players is capped at 3 million euros before tax. In addition, the average annual salary of local players shall not exceed RMB 3 million before tax, and the average annual salary of foreign players is 1.5 million euros.
It remains to be seen whether the salary restriction policy can really work. But this move is undoubtedly a great benefit to the club. Looking back at history, the FA has made several attempts to limit the salary policy. 2020, the FA adopted a new salary limit policy, which was officially implemented in the 2021 season. The policy stipulates that the total salary of local players shall not exceed 75 million yuan, and the total salary of foreign players shall not exceed 10 million euros. In China's soccer market, where investment enthusiasm is low, such a policy is undoubtedly a boon to investors, but the effectiveness still needs time to test.
Regarding the national team coaching candidates, the FA's initial idea was to hire a foreign coach with a deep understanding of Asian soccer. However, the scarcity of such coaching talent, coupled with the fact that Asian powerhouses such as South Korea and Iran are also competing for such coaches, has put the FA under tremendous pressure to offer competitive salaries. The Chinese team has a weak power base, which makes foreign coaches less interested in coaching the Chinese team. As a result, the plan was forced to run aground.
Nowadays, the Football Association has gradually given up the idea of hiring foreign coaches. Ma Dexing pointed out that the Association realized that the possibility of hiring foreign coaches is very low, so the future coaching candidates will focus on local coaches. The FA is eager to fill the coaching vacancies, after all, there are important matches to come. Under the consideration of many factors, it seems that there is no other suitable candidate for the soccer association.
Therefore, it is more likely that Li will continue to coach. Although the Football Association has been trying to set up a Chinese coaching team, this initiative does not seem to have any practical significance. Li Xiaopeng's performance with the team is not that bad, after all, the team's strength is limited. However, he led the team to defeat Vietnam last Chinese New Year and suffered unprecedented public pressure. In the current situation, no one is optimistic that he can lead the team to achieve significant results, but it seems that the soccer association can't find a more suitable candidate.
