Should Foreign Players Be Naturalized to Improve China’s Football Level?

China and the Philippines played to a 0:0 tie on the evening of October 15 in Bacolod, Philippines, in Group A of the FIFA World Cup second stage Asian qualifiers. During the game, China’s first naturalized football player Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso (Chinese name Ai Kesen) played 90 minutes, but scored no goal.

Brazilian-born Ai is the first naturalized player without Chinese ancestry to play for the national team, and actually this was his third appearance for the national team. In

September, he capped his debut with two goals in a 5:0 victory over Maldives.

Undoubtedly, the addition of Ai has strengthened the team to some extent. So, in this age of naturalization, should the underperforming Chinese National Men’s Football Team add more foreign players through naturalization?

Those who are in favor of naturalization believe that the men’s football team should include some naturalized foreign players, as there are currently not enough highlevel domestic football players to choose from. Throughout the world, many countries are open to using foreign players, and naturalization is a means to improve China football level in a short time.

Opponents say that foreign players’ background and values are different. China should not focus on short-term gains in developing its football level, and more attention should be paid to train China’s own young players. China needs a long-term vision to develop football talents rather than only focusing on results, which is short-sighted.