‘Naturalized’ solution to building a contender

Importing naturalized players is all the rage in Asia as countries look for a shortcut to success on the pitch.

China has joined the experiment, with Norway-born Hou Yongyong becoming the nation’s first naturalized player when he debuted for Beijing Guo’an in its CFA Super Cup loss to Shanghai SIPG in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, last weekend.

While the long-term implications of the naturalization tactic remain to be seen, Chinese soccer bosses should be applauded for giving it a shot rather than standing idly by as the nation’s on-field struggles continue.

In the meantime, several other Chinese Super League clubs, including seven-time champion Guangzhou Evergrande, are pursuing naturalized players.

The flurry of activity prompted the Chinese Football Association to announce last week that new regulations regarding the transfer, registration and playing time of naturalized imports will be soon be issued.

The success other Asian countries have enjoyed has made China sit up and take notice of what it might take to compete on even terms with its regional rivals.

At January’s Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, 17 of the 24 teams featured naturalized imports, with the majority of eventual winner Qatar’s lineup born elsewhere.

Qatar’s ace was Sudan-born Almoez Ali, who finished as the tournament’s top scorer.

In contrast, China’s aging squad — the oldest in the tournament with an average age of 29.3 years — stumbled into the quarterfinals where it was easily ousted by Iran.

Despite the short-term advantages, Chinese fans have so far delivered a generally lukewarm response to naturalization, with some even equating it to admitting defeat in the effort to produce homegrown world-class players.

To its credit, the Chinese Football Association has adopted a relatively conservative approach to the process, with only players of Chinese descent eligible.

Guo’an’s Hou was an ideal candidate. The 21-year-old’s mother hails from Henan province and has been a dedicated teacher of Chinese culture to her son.

Hou even sang the Chinese national anthem proficiently before the start of last Sunday’s Super Cup.

“I’m very proud to change my nationality to become a Chinese citizen,” said Hou.

“I come from Norway, but my mom is Chinese. I learned to speak some Chinese, so I can understand a bit.

“My mother not only gave me Chinese blood ... she took me to China several times to visit the family when I was a small boy. She also cooked me Chinese food and let me get used to the Chinese style of living.”

Before coming to China, Hou played for Rosenborg, where he was the club’s youngest-ever signing at the age of 16.

Guo’an’s second naturalized player, Li Ke, known as Nico Yennaris in his native England, also fits the bill. The former Brentford midfielder’s grandparents are from Guangdong province.

Ultimately, performances on the pitch will go a long way to determining the longevity of the policy.

Hou got off to an slow start in that regard, failing to grab his chance to shine after appearing as a 72ndminute substitute in the Super Cup.

Even good performances, however, might not persuade fans, who fear naturalized players will deny homegrown talent game time at the top level.

Qatar’s success has not been completely built on naturalization. In 2004, the 2022 World Cup host founded the Aspire Academy to develop young soccer stars.

Key to the academy’s success has been the “Football Dreams” program, which from 2007 to 2014 had screened over 3.5 million young players in 17 countries.

Each year, around 20 scholarships are awarded to the academy.