France cements Chinese link-up

The French Professional League and French Football Federation have opened their first office in Beijing, pledging to enhance ties with China on the soccer pitch.

“We know President Xi Jinping has great hope for Chinese soccer and China is making a great effort to make progress in the sport,” France’s sports minister Patrick Kanner said at a Beijing media conference last week.

“It is a crucial step for us to open an office in Beijing to contribute to the growth of the sport in this country.”

France and China have along history of cooperation in soccer.

French man Bruno Bini is the head coach of China’s women’s team, leading it to the quarterfinals of last year’s Rio Olympic Games. His compatriot, Alain Perrin, who has managed Ligue 1 clubs Marseille, Lyon and Saint-Etienne, was the head coach of the men’ s national team from 2014-16.

As well, the 2014 French Super Cup match — in which Paris Saint-Germain beat Guingamp 2-0 — was played at the National Stadium in Beijing.

At least four Chinese companies have invested in French clubs and several are sponsoring them.

“We are pleased the French league is so popular in China and we look forward to more of our clubs playing here,” said Nathalie Boy de la Tour, president of the French Professional League.

She also expects the new office to generate more youth training programs and coaching seminars.

As part of its push to promote soccer, China aims to establish a three-tier amateur competition system featuring grassroots clubs from 100 cities and involving over 50 million participants by 2020.

It also plans to lay 70,000 pitches, either through refurbishment of existing fields or constructing new ones.