The hotly contested U17 Chinese Youth Football League is in its third stage. In the first two phases, Chinese Super League teams were defeated or even drawn, mostly by high school teams and some obscure youth training organizations.
The recently concluded U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, China's U20 national team 2 wins and 1 loss thrilling promotion, leader Shao Jiayi revealed that the age group selection range of less than 500 people only.
Can the first youth soccer league be a hope for the future of national soccer?
In the Weifang tournament, Beijing Guoan won the Group E/F championship, but the road to promotion was quite bumpy. In the third round of the group stage, Guoan defeated Shandong Normal University 0-1, and in the final drew 0-0 with Jinan Licheng No. 2 Middle School, eventually winning 5-3 on penalties. Tsinghua Attached Middle School beat Hebei and Cangzhou Lions 3-0 and 2-0 respectively in Tangshan, while NPC Attached Middle School beat Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 1-0. Cangzhou Lions drew with Xingtai No. 3 Middle School and Shijiazhuang No. 9 Middle School, while Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Shijiazhuang No. 2 Middle School Experimental School also exchanged draws. Hebei, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Cangzhou Lions did not finish first in the group and finished in 5th, 6th and 8th place respectively.
Guangzhou U17s beat Jiangxi Fuzhou Guangchang Yincai Football Club U17s 2-1 in Zhangzhou, Shanghai Seaport U17s were held to a draw by Shaanxi Normal University Affiliated High School in the third round of the group stage, and the Dalianers won the Dalian tournament but drew 0-0 with Dalian Read Line Football Club in the semifinals.
This phenomenon can be interpreted from two perspectives: on the one hand, many clubs in the Chinese Super League have deficiencies in their ladder construction; on the other hand, professional club ladders, FA teams, youth soccer clubs, and campus soccer show a certain prosperity.
Despite problems in training and competition for the Chinese Super League club ladder teams, the overall level is relatively high. However, the rapid development of FA teams and youth club teams, including many purely school-based teams, will further boost the level of youth soccer in China.
China's U20 national team won 2 and lost 1 to qualify for the main round of the U20 Asian Cup Qualifier Group A in Saudi Arabia. Shao said the selection surface for the 2003 age group is limited to about 500 players in the country.
In fact, the selection range of the 2003 age group national youth team is only 500 people, the reason is very simple: the 2022 China Youth Football League U19 category has only 26 participating teams, each team 20 people, the participating players are about 500 people.
Back to the China Youth Football League, jointly organized by the State General Administration of Sports, the Ministry of Education and the CFA, which aims to break down the barriers to the integration of sports and education and to provide a high-quality competitive platform for Chinese youth soccer players at all levels.
It is particularly worth mentioning that this event is highly valued by the central government.
The first China Youth Football League is divided into elementary school, junior high school, senior high school and university groups, with a total of 18 age groups for men and women. Elementary school group matches are organized by local municipalities, while middle school and high school groups implement national registration, with Chinese Super League ladder teams, campus soccer, youth training clubs and football association teams competing on the same field.
The first league officially landed at the end of May and kicked off at the end of July with a tight lead time. Instead of holding qualifiers, many places in the Boys' U13 and U15 divisions designated teams to compete, and the quality of the teams in the tournament varied. However, going into the knockout stage, the quality of the matches improved significantly and many matches were played at a high level.
In the second edition of the China Youth Football League, there is more time for qualifiers around the world, and the quality of teams participating in the finals will be significantly improved.
Some problems arose in the preparatory process for the first league, such as inconsistent understanding of the rules of the game and occasional problems with the playing field, but they were all individual phenomena.
The level of commitment from all the players involved and the referee's calls were largely unproblematic, which was reassuring.
The first China Youth Football League saw a number of highlights, such as significant improvements in youth soccer at all levels, notable match organization and innovations in the tournament system.
However, the inaugural league is still facing a lot of difficulties, such as financial difficulties, and will need more attention and support from sponsors in the future.
The future of China's national soccer team is not yet clear, but such matches must be kept up, and only if they are kept up will there be hope for the future.
