Kuko
On December 12, the Chinese Football Association issued a notice to the third-level league clubs in the form of a questionnaire survey on soliciting opinions on the relevant policies of the professional league in the 2024 season (until December 14). The questionnaire is divided into three broad areas: league policy, access requirements and competition methodology, and each section includes a number of sub-questions, for a total of 30 options (including multiple choice).
The first two aspects involve the survival and development of the club's equity, financial indicators, echelon construction and venues, and their importance is self-evident. But what fans are more interested in may be the foreign aid policy in the competition method.
There are five options in the policy: A) increase the number of foreign aid places, B) the number of applicants is the same as the number of participants, C) reduce the number of foreign aid places, D) increase the number of young foreign aid places, and E) other opinions.
Four days ago, the Taishan team suffered a 0-3 defeat in the final round of the AFC Champions League group stage against Yokohama Marinos. While surprised by the huge gap between Chinese and Japanese football, some fans joked that "Choi Kang-hee lost to the future coach of the harbor" (rumor has it that Yokohama Mariners coach Muscat will replace Xavier as the coach of the harbor). But in reality, it is different from the "non-reuse of foreign aid" in the play-off Harbour 2-3 defeat to Pathum United. The lack of Fellaini and Moisés, two core foreign aids, coupled with Pato's absence due to injury, Cressan and Judson 2 foreign aid lost to the opponent's 5 foreign aid is the main reason for Taishan's loss.
Many media reporters and fans believe that the main reason why the Football Association is considering adjusting the foreign aid policy should be to be in line with the AFC Champions League. Just like Song Kai said in October, strive to run a professional league that satisfies the people and "benchmark the AFC".
According to media reports, starting from the 2024/2025 season, the AFC Champions League will remove the restriction on the number of foreign players registered (currently 5+1). In the context that the Chinese Super League schedule is still difficult to implement across the year, the number of foreign players is in line with the AFC Champions League as much as possible, which is the most feasible way for Chinese Super League clubs to enhance their competitiveness in the AFC Champions League.
In the FA's questionnaire, the first option, which is to increase the number of foreign players, is likely to be accepted by the majority of clubs (although some believe that most clubs are currently facing serious survival problems). In addition, the second option, i.e., the number of foreign players signing up for the same number as the number of players on the field, should also receive a positive response. Li Zhenbo, an investor of Heilongjiang Bingcheng Club, posted his answer (choose A and B) on his personal social platform, and said, "You can not choose to increase the number of foreign aid, but the policy of reporting N-1 on N is absolutely a serious waste and has no meaning." I believe that this statement is also the consensus of many clubs.
Of course, the fans are not interested in this, or not in the main way. After all, there are only a handful of Super League clubs that can participate in the AFC Champions League. In the case of the Saudi Super League hiring a large number of super foreign players with high salaries, it may be difficult for Chinese Super League clubs to win the championship again in the foreseeable future. What fans are most interested in is precisely the fourth option that Li Zhenbo did not choose, that is, "increasing the number of young foreign players". The reason for their interest is: why would the Football Association come up with such an opinion for clubs to choose from?
I agree with the idea that this is a preparation for naturalized players. To put it more bluntly, the Football Association is already preparing for the next World Cup.
In this issue of the national football team's training list for the Asian Cup, none of the non-blood naturalized players were selected. In particular, Exxon's defeat has sparked a lot of controversy and discussion. Some people think that naturalized players are just mercenaries, and it is just nonsense to hope that they will fight for honor, while others believe that Ackerson and others are indeed too old and in declining condition to run, and do not meet Jankovic's tactical requirements. But no matter which view it is, it is an indisputable fact that all non-naturalized players, including Allan, Luo Guofu and Fernando, are 30+ veterans, and compared with the top 12 two years ago, their "combat power" must have decreased significantly, and it is no longer realistic to expect them to turn the tide and lead the national team to the World Cup.
This should give the Football Association a certain stimulus and provoke them to think that if possible, the future (non-blood) naturalized players in the national team must be younger, even in their playing years. Therefore, the subtext of the so-called "increasing the number of young foreign players" is to be able to find and "cultivate" suitable naturalized players.
According to FIFA policy, non-blood players must have lived in their home country for at least 5 years for naturalization. Assuming that the standard of "young" is 23 or even under 20, if the policy of increasing the number of young foreign players is implemented, these "suitable" naturalized players will be between 25 and 28 years old, at least under 30 years old at the 2030 World Cup. If there are 2, 3, or even 4 or 5 naturalized players with outstanding ability, the hope of the national football team to enter the World Cup will be greatly increased.
Of course, this interpretation does not mean that the Football Association is eager for quick success or anything. Including a number of attention-grabbing "opinions" in this questionnaire, such as the conditional release of club transfers, the neutral name of the club (allowing team naming), equity changes, competition methods and schedules, and some time ago, the main leaders of the Football Association went to many places to investigate youth training, etc., all prove that the current Football Association has a more open and enlightened attitude and is also doing more practical work. The Football Association did not focus on the third-level league, but focused on the overall situation and considered the long-term development and planning of Chinese football.
The youth training work is on the right track, the professional league is booming again, the national team can enter the World Cup again, and the entire Chinese football is booming, full of vitality and vitality, of course, it is a great thing that the majority of fans like to see. This should be one of the original intentions of this "questionnaire survey".
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