Chinese Football Association to enjoy more freedom in operation

China’s football governing body officially ended its affiliation with the General Administration of Sport of China (GAS) on Thursday, but analysts cautioned that a full separation will be difficult to achieve in the near term.

The Football Administration Center under the GAS was closed on Thursday but it will continue to perform its role as the Chinese Football Association (CFA), according to the government website gjsy.gov.cn on Friday.

Since 1995, the center had shared the two names. The closure means the CFA will enjoy more freedom in operating, without being limited by government regulations on spending.

However, Wang Dazhao, a Beijingbased senior football commentator, told the Global Times it is still too early to say the affiliation has completely ended.

“The separation is just a process,” Wang said, noting the closure of the Football Administration Center is just an outcome of the process that started in 2015.

“But for now, I think the CFA cannot fully operate independently without the support of the government.”

Football expert Zhang Lu also believes the CFA will face difficulties if there’s no government support.

“If the CFA wants to become purely market-oriented, they will find it difficult to fully achieve the goals they set,” Zhang said.

Questions also remain about incumbent CFA President Cai Zhenhua, with many fans wonder if he will still keep his governmental role as the deputy director of the GAS.

GAS chief Gou Zhongwen, who was appointed in November 2016 to replace retired director Liu Peng, is expected to bring some fresh reforms this year, Guangzhou-based Soccer News reported Thursday.

A spokesperson with the GAS said Thursday the sport body will curb the spending of clubs on players and financial supervision would be strengthened.

In recent years, clubs in China’s football leagues have spent big in bringing foreign marquee players, including Brazil internationals Oscar, Hulk, Ramires and Paulinho, to the country.

Lately, Chinese Super League (CSL) side Shanghai SIPG broke the transfer record set by themselves when Hulk transferred from Zenit Saint Petersburg in signing Hulk’s compatriot Oscar from Chelsea of English Premier League in a reported 60 million euro ($63.57 million) deal.

Money-splashing Guangzhou Evergrande, the CSL champions for six consecutive seasons, claimed the Asian Champions League twice in 2013 and 2015, the latest Chinese team to claim a major international title.

Only one Chinese striker was among the top-10 scorers of 2016 CSL season, with fans wondering if foreign players’ dominance in domestic league has impaired Chinese players’ match experience.

But Zhang also believes foreign players could invigorate the attraction of the CSL.

“We don’t have enough quality players in the league,” Zhang said. “Having some foreign high-profile players could make the league more attractive to the fans, which is also helpful in promoting football.”

China’s national football team has long been seen as underachiever after a runners-up finish on home turf at the 2004 Asian Cup.

The team’s campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is already in tatters as they are yet to grab a win after five rounds in the final stage of the Asian qualifiers.

World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who took the reins of the Chinese team in October with a reported 20 million euro ($21.2 million) annual salary, said China need a “miracle” to step into Russia 2018 World Cup.

In the latest FIFA ranking released in December 2016, China languishes at 82nd, sandwiched by Caribbean island nation St. Kitts and Nevis and Faroe Islands.

Initiated by football-loving President Xi Jinping, China started its football reform in March 2015, when the State Council issued a 50-point reform project on promoting football in the world’s most populous country.

Among those points is a near-term goal of improving the administration of football development.