Rani Jarkas: China pays great attention to youth football development

According to "The Mid- and Long-Term Development Plan for Chinese Soccer" issued in April by China's National Development and Reform Commission, China aims to rank among the world top teams by 2050.


"By 2020, China will have 20,000 soccer academies. Chinese football teams, for both men and women, will present impressive results in World Cup, Asian Cup and Olympics," the plan added.



Li Shuyi, Executive Deputy Director at the inter-ministerial joint conference office specializing in the country's football development, believed a lot more needs to be done in order to make virtual progress in the sport. “We need to build a world-class backup system in Chinese national team operation", said Li.



Most of all, China had embarked the youth football development program, aiming to dig deep on grassroots football. The development will be accelerated in schools. Schools with a specialty in football will expand from the current number of 5,000 to 20,000 by 2020 and further increase to 50,000 by 2025. There will be over 30 million primary and middle school students who often play soccer.



Rani Jarkas, Chairman of Cedrus Investments, who is also concerned about the development of China’s football, said, “Football academies are the motive force of the constant development of football. The future of China’s football will benefit greatly from its youth football development program.”