Gentlemen, as the 2022 World Cup comes to a close, our country cannot help but think deeply about the solid performances of Japan and South Korea in the tournament. Although Japan and South Korea lost in the last eight, their remarkable performance was certainly a strong rebuff to those ridiculous ethnocentric theories. Japan managed to emerge from the Group of Death with a 2-1 comeback against Spain in a thrilling battle, followed by back-to-back victories against Germany and Spain. South Korea made it to the round of 16 with an impressive win over Portugal, despite the ups and downs.
On the contrary, our country's soccer has been in shambles since the 2002 World Cup, and it is even no match for third- or fourth-rate teams such as Vietnam. Some people have questioned whether the country is not paying enough attention to soccer. The truth is that it is not. As early as 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission released long-term plans in the field of sports, including a long-term development plan for Chinese soccer from 2016 to 2050. By 2020, more than 84,000 schools in China have been equipped with soccer fields and more than 50,000 soccer coaches have been trained.
However, soccer is costly for the average family, and the high investment makes more and more families choose to let their children give up soccer. Parents generally believe that studying can change their fate and lead a decent life.
Nowadays, with the improvement of family financial conditions, more and more parents support their children to play soccer and cultivate them at an early age. However, the ensuing problem cannot be ignored, that is, soccer corruption. During the World Cup this year, many netizens criticized the former national soccer coach, "Japan scored, South Korea scored and our coach was imprisoned", and called for the cleaning up of the moths in the national football team.
Despite the fact that we have a Chinese Super League that rivals the world's top leagues, we are in trouble today. We are unable to carry out thorough reforms like Japan and South Korea, and the industrialized development of soccer has not touched every corner. To break the darkness and usher in the light, we must break out of Asia and go global.
