After more than a month of training at the Shanghai Oriental Oasis Sports Training Base, the new Chinese women's soccer team under the direction of Shui Qingxia will embark on a journey on the evening of January 15, taking a special flight to Mumbai, India, to prepare for the 20th Women's Asian Cup, which will be staged from January 20 to February 6, and is expected to be held on the same day. Despite the health risks posed by the epidemic in India, the Chinese team's confidence in achieving good results has not diminished. In order to ensure that the team's epidemiological protection, competition and daily life in India are properly safeguarded, the CFA has actively communicated with the Chinese Consulate in the country to seek assistance. The Association and its key leadership have pledged to give the Chinese women's soccer team the same full support as the national men's soccer team.
On January 9, the new Chinese women's soccer team led by former international footballer Shui Qingxia assembled in Shanghai to start the preparation for the Asian Cup. This was the first official assembly after the Tokyo Olympics came to an end, and a total of 34 players were selected. However, Tang Jiali and Shen Mengyu, who play for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League and Celtic in Scotland, were unable to participate in the national team training due to club matches.
The Chinese women's soccer team is facing a double challenge in this Asian Cup trip. On the one hand, the pressure on the competitive level should not be underestimated. The Tokyo Olympics "2 to 7" tragedy and group exit, making the team in urgent need of a managerial change and management innovation to reshape the image. This year's Asian Cup participants in the team, up to seven teams can be promoted to the World Cup, China's women's soccer team is difficult to compete with Japan and Australia and other strong teams, but is still expected to become a strong stream of the Asian Cup. As the last third place, as long as the ranking of the top five, can ensure that the World Cup, so beyond the last results is the team's goal.
On the other hand, health and safety issues are equally serious. The Indian Football Association (IFA) has suspended its domestic league, and the ongoing outbreak of the disease is also worrying the participating teams. Nevertheless, the AFC has not yet adjusted the competition schedule, and the Chinese women's soccer team will have to participate in this year's Asian Cup if they want to play in the 2023 World Cup.
It is reported that the schedule of the Chinese women's football team's trip to India has been set, and it is expected to depart from Shanghai on the evening of November 15 and fly directly to Mumbai. The team will stay in the hotel designated by the AFC, and during the group stage with the same group of Chinese Taipei, Iran and hosts India to share a place. But with the men's AFC Champions League and other events, the Asian Cup will implement strict "bubble" epidemic prevention measures, the Chinese team will be in the hotel during the independent floor activities.
In view of the epidemic and other realistic factors, the CFA has contacted the local consulate of China, which will provide assistance to the Chinese women's football team in training, living and competition. In addition, the Association will provide the team with comparable protection to that of the men's World Cup preparations, including a specially recruited nutritionist and the facilitation of the team's food, accommodation and transportation in India through personal relationships.
According to the plan, the Chinese women's soccer team will select 21 people from the 32 training players to go to India, Tang Jiali and Shen Mengyu will directly from the United Kingdom arrived in India to meet with the team.
