Soccer Daily reveals that Coach Jia Xiuquan returned home from watching the Asian Cup final and decided to devote himself to youth soccer training. Now, he has joined hands with Tongji International Football Academy to build the dream of youth soccer training.
In the summer of this year, the investor of a Chinese League One team invited Jia to take the helm of the coaching staff, and personally went to Beijing to invite interviews. In the face of this situation, Jia Xiuquan thoughtful, politely declined the warm invitation, and even turned off the phone for three days.
Since he was 12 years old, Mr. Jia has been a member of the Bayi Youth Team and has experienced the changes of the sports team. With his rich personal experience, Mr. Jia knows that the training model of the old days can no longer meet the needs of the new era of Chinese soccer talent development. In modern society, becoming a person with cognitive level and sound personality cannot be separated from the nourishment of knowledge and a formal educational environment. The cultivation of soccer talents, in addition to standardized basic technical training, needs a quality platform to enhance the cultural cognition of young players and strengthen their decision-making power on the field. All of this is inseparable from a good cultural atmosphere and a stable path to higher education.
The soccer academies of top universities are in dire need of top coaches, and the birth of the Tongji International Soccer Academy has just filled the void in Jia's mind. Driven by a third party, the two sides began a six-year journey of cooperation. These six years cover the critical growth period of children from middle school to high school. After the expiration of the cooperation period, if both parties still have the will, the cooperation can be renewed for another six years. The combination of soccer and education is not a one-day process, but this cooperation, which could last up to 12 years, is a testament to the sincerity and determination of both parties in the integration of top-level sports and education.
Since its establishment in 2017, the Tongji International Football Academy has demonstrated the importance that Tongji University attaches to the development of soccer. As China's first international soccer academy, President You Songhui has a unique understanding of the word "international": "Tongji University was founded by Germans, and is highly internationalized, with frequent exchanges with Europe."
From the very beginning of the Academy, we set out to build a platform to establish a soccer club as a base for teaching and training. With their own clubs, students can participate in various high-level tournaments. In recent years, the Academy's men's team has played in the Chinese Champions League in Zhangzhou, and the women's team has won the second place in the Women's B League in cooperation with Shanghai Port Club. In addition, the college team is also active in the Five A and Five Super League.
Tongji International Football Academy's plan for the club is to strive to enter the Central League. President You Songhui said, "The construction of the club's platform is aimed at improving the players' level. The college league alone is limited to the improvement of players. Whereas teams in professional leagues above the Central League A have foreign players, we, as a highly internationalized soccer academy, can attract international students through our scholarship policy to enrich the club's lineup, which is our unique advantage."
