On October 22nd, the night was low, Weifang city was brightly lit, the final of U15 group of China Youth Football League was staged passionately. Shandong Taishan U15 team and Evergrande Soccer School U15 team had a fierce competition, and finally with a score of 2-1, after two rounds of fierce battle, successfully won the championship. In the award ceremony after the match, the new chairman of the soccer association Song Kai was present to present the trophy to the young players of Taishan U15.
It is worth noting that this is Song Kai's first public appearance since his election as chairman of the FA on the sixth day, and also the first time the new FA team has gone out of the capital to conduct field research. In stark contrast to the high-profile appearances of the new FA team in the past, Song Kai and his team have been upholding a "still waters run deep" attitude since taking office. In addition to official media reports, Song Kai has rarely spoken out individually after the AFA General Assembly. Although rumors that he would attend the CBA opening ceremony were once rampant, they were eventually confirmed to be false.
As a result, when Songkai would show up and make his voice heard became the center of attention for fans and the media. And the Oct. 22 youth game finally unveiled the mystery.
"Youth training is the basis for the revitalization of soccer. In the future, the CFA will regard youth training as a top priority." Song Kai made his first public appearance before the media, elaborating profoundly on the significance of the event.
Talking about youth training, Song Kai emphasized that on the one hand, it is necessary to attract high-level coaches to devote themselves to the cause of youth training. "The first thing that is reflected in the poor performance of the competition is the insufficient level of training. We lack excellent coaches to devote themselves to youth training, and the treatment of youth coaches is far from that of professional teams, which is a reality that needs to be changed gradually. The CFA will guide top coaches to devote themselves to youth training through policy regulations and guidance."
On the other hand, it is necessary to build a high-level and stable youth competition system, "At the age of 12, our players are at the same level as Japanese and Korean players, but the gap is obvious at the age of 16, which is mainly due to the inadequacy of the competition system. Players need to keep growing by participating in more high-level competitions. There are unstable factors in our competition system, the youth competition system must remain stable, can be adjusted moderately, but the overall framework must not be shaken."
In both cases, it is clear that Song Kai's work as a veteran sportsman is based on the same philosophy. However, this does not mean that he believes that soccer needs to return to "tradition". On the contrary, he believes that Chinese soccer still lacks openness and should continue to broaden the path of openness.
"Chinese soccer, should not be closed!" Song Kai exclaimed.
At present, Chinese soccer youth training covers professional clubs, professional sports teams, social organizations and campus soccer. The CFA first needs to strengthen the foundation and maintain stability. Although it is impractical to completely return to the sports team model, the policy guidance of the Games can inspire provinces and cities to increase their support for soccer.
With the help of external forces, including the introduction of foreign coaches and players as well as the naturalization of players, these are worth exploring. There is a gap between our understanding of youth training and that of the developed countries in soccer, so we should remain humble and actively learn. The internationalization of youth training is crucial. According to statistics, there are 137 registered foreign coaches in China, and the internationalization of youth coaches will be further enhanced in the future. Youth leagues can also consider relaxing nationality restrictions to promote exchanges.
In addition to expanding the openness of youth training, Songkai also believes that the openness of the league should be further improved. He believes that many industries have proved that cost-effective products can only be produced in a fully competitive market environment. With the AFC currently relaxing restrictions on foreign aid and the Saudi league planning to increase the quota of foreign aid to 10 per team, Chinese soccer should also follow the trend of openness.
This shows that Song Kai's thinking about soccer is to promote the level of Chinese players by raising the level of competition, so that more capable talents can stand out.
However, Song Kai also said that there is no need to worry too much about the formulation of specific policies, which need to be fully discussed. A year should be given to allow all parties to fully discuss and clarify the direction, and then implement it gradually.
As for the policies that have previously caused controversy in Chinese soccer and the league, Song Kai admits that they will no longer be present.
"In the future, the CFA will no longer introduce policies such as the 'national team league' and the 'U23 player policy' that have sparked controversy. The CFA must meet the expectations of society before it can introduce new policies, and this is the primary principle of my tenure." Song Kai said in a firm tone.
