English|China to Hold its First National Football Youth Tournament

English|China to Hold its First National Football Youth Tournament
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Image Source: Visual China
BEIJING, February 8 (TMTPOST) — China’s Ministry of Education said in its 2022 Work Memo released on Tuesday that it will hold the first China National Football Youth League this year.
The Ministry of Education said in the memo that a National Football Youth League and a National Student Sports Competition will be held for the first time in China in order to drive the development of sports education reforms.
The National Youth Super League (NYSL) started by the Chinese Football Association and The National Youth Football Working Group Office in 2017 was the highest football event for the youth in China. A total number of 87 teams took part in the first NYSL.
Youth leagues are useful platforms for football teams to discover talents with great potential and provide incentives for children to engage in football activities. However, China’s football training system for the youth is far from mature. Most football clubs tend to acquire talents by poaching them from other clubs instead of investing in providing training for youth players and nurturing their own talents.
Football has been a weak spot for China. The men’s football team of China had failed in the pursuit of qualification to the FIFA 2022 World Cup on Lunar New Year’s Day, losing to Japan by 0:2 and to Vietnam by 1:3. Chinese football fans would often mock the China men’s football team by using it as an analogy of incompetence, which showcases how Chinese people view its national football team.
【English|China to Hold its First National Football Youth Tournament】China’s women's football team, however, sparked massive national pride as it beat strong competition South Korea at 3-2 in the final of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday. Social media in China were then flocked with praises for the women’s football team. Chinese firms such as Mengniu and Alipay pledged to reward the team with million-dollar cash prizes. National media also celebrated the team’s victory.
See also: Chinese Firms Shower China’s Women Football Team with Cash for Historic Victory

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