Time to Kick off the Football Reform

The comprehensive program for football re- form and development published on March 16 provides a blueprint for the healthy development of the sport in China.

The program involves multiple aspects related to the country’s football， including its management system， the national team， professional clubs， football lottery， and campus football， as well as construction of playing fields. The document also includes football in the country’s plan for social development.

The publication of the program demonstrates China’s determination to remedy the maladies that have bedeviled the nation’s football cause.

Football was the first sport chosen by the country to be its ice-breaking professional sport. Unfortunately， the country’s football has failed to achieve satisfactory development over the two decades since， national team and domestic league included.

However， the lackluster performance has not weakened the public’s enthusiasm and love for the world’s most popular sport.

Now， football is once again being eyed by the authorities as a key area to advance sports reform and development.

There are high hopes among Chinese people that the country can really overcome the problems in its football development， uproot the short-term benefits mentality， and realize the long-latent “football dream”of its people.

For a better development prospect， China’s football needs patience， perseverance and action. It also needs a mechanism not only suitable for China’s national conditions but also based on international experiences. We also need to work out how to spend the money more efficiently and more reasonably.

People believe that not only the sports administration， but also the education department， should be blamed for the failure of the national football team. The former， which values nothing but gold medals， has always been cold toward soccer， which will only return success in the long term； the latter pays more attention to students’ academic performance and so it neglects soccer. The national football reform plan will bridge the bureaucracies relevant to development of the sport， thus preventing them from passing the buck.

The domestic football league matches rely too heavily on sponsorship and hardly derive any profits from the televizing of matches. The reform plan will commercialize these matches， and allow clubs to take a bigger share of the profits， which is a positive move. Besides， the commercial running of football pitches， the football lottery and other derivatives will also expand to help the sport support itself.

China’s football should blaze a trail for other sports to follow. Why do the authorities choose football for reform first？ Because it is the first sport in the country to go professional. Its reform experiences will offer precious lessons for other sports.

The sport of basketball shares many similarities with football in China， so if the latter achieves success that would also help the former.