Local govts, let’s play football!
Italian stars boost game at grassroots level
Once again, the Chinese national football team played a disappointing game against Qatar back in November. But it wasn’t all bad news. Even though the match finished in a 0-0 draw, Chinese players put in a much better performance than they did against Syria, and with a little bit of luck they could have easily defeated their rivals.
Italian coach Marcello Lippi deserves credit for this improvement. He is one of the greatest coaches in the history of football, which leads me to believe that he contributed greatly to making the team more competitive and hungry for victory.
But despite Lippi’s great résumé, the Chinese national squad is still a long way from being the team that the world No.2 economy and influential country in the world deserves. Even though China already excels in many individual sports, it is still struggling in many team sports, and the goal of transforming itself into a football powerhouse seems particularly unattainable. Why? Hiring top foreign football coaches or paying millions of yuan for foreign players is not enough. This will neither help Chinese clubs improve their results nor raise the general level of Chinese football. Instead, what is really needed is a drastic change of mindset at every level, a deep cultural transformation.
Foreign cooperation
China’s central authorities understand that an efficient way to accelerate this cultural transition is to enhance cooperation with foreign football institutions, and Italians once again have shown themselves to be good partners to work with.
It’s no coincidence that Carlo Tavecchio, president of the Italian Football Association (FIGC) and Cai Zhenhua, president of the CFA, recently met in China to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement to support the development of football in the country.
FIGC representatives said they were proud to have an opportunity to contribute to the transformation of China into a football powerhouse by “exporting” the knowledge which made Italy four-time football world champions, second only to Brazil.
Moreover, to ensure that concrete results will emerge from such policies, Chinese people must be incentivized to play football and learn about the sport from a very young age. A real revolution should start from the bottom, not from the top.
Once again, the central authorities are showing the right way to go, and President Xi Jinping understands what needs to be done.
The Chinese central government is promoting and implementing specific policies aimed at boosting football culture and raising playing skills, starting with kids.
Under the Chinese Football’s 50-Point Reform, starting from 2015, all Chinese schools’ curriculums must include mandatory football classes for their students, from primary school to high school.
Lack of support
But what is the situation at the local government level?
In my experience working as a consultant for one of the most prosperous second-tier cities, I learned that when it comes to football development, local governments still have a lot to do to align their policies with central government expectations.
While robotics or equipment manufacturing companies, especially in the south of China, are offered attractive incentives by local officials, even top-notch football education companies run by Italian football stars struggle to get any kind of support.
Let’s take the example of Champions International Camps (CIC), a company with branches in Italy, the US and Hong Kong, whose shareholders are legends of Italian football such as Alessandro Costacurta and Massimo Ambrosini.
In July, the company, which arranges football camps for kids and prospective football coaches, brought the two Italian football stars to Foshan, Guangdong Province, to lead a seven-day training camp for kids.
The activity, which was arranged in partnership with the education arm of one of the largest real estate groups in China, was a huge success.
As a result, CIC expressed its desire to establish a permanent presence in Foshan to further develop its partnership with the local company and to arrange more football activities for kids.
Despite the success of the camp, the quality of the company and the fact that the project perfectly fitted in with President Xi’s plans, the local government did not seem to fully realize the opportunity they had in front of their eyes.
Many local officials with traditional mindsets do not see the potential of these kinds of initiatives, even when it is huge.
Fruits in long term
The time has come for them to overcome the logic which says that opening a factory, manufacturing and selling products is the only way of supporting local economies. This is a traditional and still very effective way of thinking about foreign investment, but it is not the only way, and certainly not the one the future China needs. Although supporting an educational football project cannot bring immediate economic results, it improves the physical condition of Chinese people and enriches their lives with sports culture. It also promotes values such as patriotism and collectivism and will help develop the sports industry. Chinese officials need to understand that this kind of project bears fruits in the long term. The local governments that are the first to support such initiatives will be the first to enjoy the benefits that come from them. Maybe not today, but surely tomorrow.