Chinese soccer faces long hard road with hopes alive

BEIJING, April 3 -- Chinese soccer faces a long hard road, but hopes of rejuvenation still remain as the men's soccer team advanced to the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup for the first time in 15 years.

A stunning 2-0 win over Qatar in their last Group C match on Tuesday helped China join Asian heavyweights Australia and Japan in the next round.

The last time for China to move into the final round of the qualifiers was in 2001 when former coach Bora Milutinovic steered the team to the last 10 and finally booked a berth in the 2002 World Cup finals.

Qualification for the next phase has been encouraging for China, who is initiating a drive to build the giant Asian country into a footballing power.

"My luck was good, it was also a team effort," said midfielder Huang Bowen, who scored in the game against the 2022 World Cup hosts. "Chinese football is gradually improving."

According to the rule of the qualifiers, group winners and top four second-placed teams advanced to the next phase. The first stage of the qualifiers was thought to be an easy job for China when they were drawn with Qatar, Maldives, Bhutan and Hong Kong of China.

However, two surprise draws with the HK side put the team in a tough situation. Only a victory over Qatar in the last round could bring China some hope to make the final round of the Asian qualifiers. Thanks to Australia, the Philippines and Iran, who beat Jordan, DPR Korea and Oman respectively, China eked into the last 12 with 17 points in Group C.

The last battles of survival proved that China's ambitious soccer reform plan is making progress.

One year ago the country unveiled the Overall Plan of Chinese Soccer Reform and Development. Aiming to revive the Chinese soccer, the reform plan covers almost every aspect of the sport, including the management system, professional clubs and leagues, the national teams and grassroots soccer.

Last year, the separation of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) from the General Administration of Sports was a historical step, which aims to give the CFA full rights of management, including financial, personnel system and international communications.

In February China abolished the government's soccer management body - the Chinese Football Administrative Center, one of 21 state sports departments, giving CFA more latitude in making decisions in personnel management, pay rate setting, marketing and selection of national team coaches.

Besides, the number of primary schools and high schools which adopt soccer as part of their physical education program has surged from 5,000 to 8,000 in less than a year, confirmed CFA President Cai Zhenhua.

"In 2020, the number will increase to 20,000," claims the Overall Plan, which aims to use soccer as an educational tool not only to enlarge the soccer population but also improve the health quality of students.

Companies and businessmen have also rushed to put money into soccer since last year. Chinese Super League clubs have spent an unprecedented 317 million euros during the winter transfer window to bring in foreign stars, many of them internationals.

The Chinese transfer fee record has been smashed several times during the period, culminating in Jiangsu Suning paying Shakhtar Donetsk 50 million euros for Alex Teixeira.

The reform has been working well so far and sped up the resurgence process, first from China's women squad.

In 2015, the Chinese women's team reached the World Cup finals for the first time in eight years and impressed the world by reaching the quarter-finals. Then the "Steel Roses" nailed a berth for the Rio Olympics last month.

The reform plan has been less effective for the Chinese men squad than to women. The final qualifying for the World Cup 2018 in Russia will be a huge morale boost for the country.

Two groups of six teams contest the final round of qualifiers beginning in September with the top two from each group automatically qualifying for Russia.

The draw is scheduled to take place on April 12.