This Day, That Year
WED - THU
30/42 27/42
25/35 24/34
27/33 26/34
25/32 25/33
25/32 25/33
26/31 26/32
25/31 25/31 13/25 7/11 12/24 15/26 5/22 7/27 10/29 15/31 26/34 26/34 18/25 18/26 26/32 26/33 14/22 12/25 16/23 17/28 27/31 24/31
28/35 28/33 26/35 27/34 Beijing Changchun Changsha Chongqing Dalian Fuzhou Guangzhou Guilin Guiyang Haikou Hangzhou Harbin Hefei Hohhot Hongkong Jinan Kunming Lanzhou Lhasa Lijiang Macao Nanchang Nanjing Nanning Qingdao Sanya 10/29 6/20 18/25 15/25 12/22 23/31 26/34 22/30 13/25 26/34 18/27 5/21 15/26 5/24 28/35 15/29 15/24 10/26 11/25 12/23 27/34 21/27 17/26 25/33 13/22 26/36 S C C C S T T C C C C C C S C S Sh C C Sh C O C C S T Editor’s Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.
In May, 1996, the country’s first privately built soccer school was opened in Shenyang, Liaoning province.
The photo in China Daily (right) showed students doing exercises at Shenyang Gao Fengwen Soccer School, named after its founder Gao Fengwen, former national soccer team coach. The stu- 15/31 13/27 21/33 20/27 15/25 22/32 26/34 26/30 19/27 26/34 17/29 10/24 16/27 10/24 28/33 22/29 15/26 12/28 10/26 14/25 27/34 21/33 15/24 24/34 16/22 26/35 S C C O S C C C C Sh C C C S C S C C C C C C S C S Sh Shanghai Shenyang Shenzhen Shijiazhuang Suzhou Taipei Taiyuan Tianjin Urumqi Wuhan Xi'an Xiamen Xining Yantai Yinchuan Zhengzhou Zhuhai Athens Berlin Brussels Geneva Istanbul London Madrid Moscow Paris Rome Vienna dents received six years of physical and cultural training at the school.
But due to lack of investment and proper management, the school was closed in 2009.
Things have changed for soccer schools in recent years as China has set an ambitious goal to join the world’s soccer elite by 2050.
According to a soccer development plan released by the Chinese Football Association in 2016, 50 million players will play the game and 70,000 soccer pitches will be put into service across the country by 2020. 18/25 7/24 27/34 15/31 16/18 27/31 7/26 13/31 13/25 16/23 11/26 25/34 5/21 12/26 9/27 15/29 27/35 19/29 16/21 15/18 13/16 16/24 11/15 14/20 12/25 14/18 20/20 17/18 S S C S R T S S C C C D C S C C C S S O D S S D S D D D 18/26 15/29 27/34 19/32 15/21 24/31 9/29 16/31 7/11 18/30 14/25 24/31 9/24 16/28 13/28 18/26 27/34 19/30 16/21 15/21 13/16 16/22 10/15 14/21 11/22 13/19 19/19 16/18 S S C S O C C S D C D O C S C C C S S D D C D O C D C C
Meanwhile, the number of schools specializing in soccer will rise from more than 8,000 to 20,000.
As the country aims to fulfill its soccer ambition, many Chinese enterprises are showing a strong interest in buying European soccer WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Abu Dhabi 28/42 Bangkok 27/33 Colombo 26/31 Dubai 28/42 Hanoi 24/32 Islamabad 19/38 Jakarta 25/31 Karachi 27/41 Kuala Lumpur 25/32 Manila 26/35 Mumbai 27/34 New Delhi 30/42 Pyongyang 12/22 Riyadh 22/36 Seoul 14/22 Singapore 26/31 Sydney 14/20 Teheran 17/24 Tokyo 16/23 Wellington 12/14 Yangon 25/35 S R R S D S D S R D S S S S S D D D D D D 27/38 26/34 27/31 29/37 25/34 20/37 25/31 23/41 25/33 27/34 27/33 27/42 12/26 22/37 12/25 26/32 13/18 19/26 17/28 10/15 24/34 S D D S C S D S D D D S S S S D D D D D D clubs to learn how to run all aspects of the game and also generate revenue.
President Xi Jinping, an avid soccer fan, in 2015 expressed his wishes for China to win a World Cup bid and perhaps one day win the tournament. BuenosAires 5/12 Caracas 25/29 Chicago 15/24 Houston 24/29 Las Vegas 23/32 Los Angeles 14/18 Mexico city 19/21 New York 14/27 Ottawa 17/21 Rio De Janeiro 16/22 San Francisco 13/19 Sao Paulo 10/13 Vancouver 11/24 Washington 18/28 Cairo 25/37 CapeTown 13/20 Johannesburg 5/18 Lagos 27/27 Nairobi 16/24 S D S D S D D D S C D S S D C C S C D 4/13 O 25/28 D 15/23 S 23/29 D 26/32 S 15/18 D 18/20 D 19/25 C 19/22 C 18/23 D 13/14 C 7/13 S 13/21 D 23/26 D 25/35 C 13/17 D 3/18 S 27/27 D 15/24 D