Apparently not convinced that Chinese football is enough of an international laughing stock, the Chinese Football Association announced during the Golden Week National Holiday that 55 of the country’s best under-25 players would be taken away from their club sides during a crucial run-in period at the end of the season to participate in a special “training camp”.
As if that suspiciously-timed, utterly bizarre decision wasn’t enough, it’s since emerged that the players will be given “collectivism ideology training” and perform military-style drills, and that anyone thought to not be fully engaged will be kicked out of the camp and subjected to a ban from all CFA-affiliated competitions.
Chinese FA has announced during the military training of the U25 team that players ‘show signs of resistance’ will be eliminated from the 55-men training camp & banned in CFA-sponsored tournaments. pic.twitter.com/NLG8QLssdF
— Wild East Football (@wildeastfootbal) October 9, 2018
There are also strong rumors that the decision is to pave the way for a national youth side to enter into the Chinese Super League (the country’s top club division) when the new season kicks off next March.
Understandably, fans are up in arms over the action to remove young prospects from competitive fixtures at the business end of a season, with some declaring the counterproductive initiative “the death of Chinese football”.
English language observers have been left similarly bemused. This thread, from seasoned Chinese football watcher and editor of Wild East Football, @modernleifeng, sums up a lot of the sentiment right now:
my thoughts on this 1. who the hell has ever heard of U25?! Why mix a few mediocre older players in with what is most of the top U23 players? Who was behind the roster? Was Lippi, Hiddink, or any of the other highly paid foreign managers consulting on this?
— Brandon C. (@modernleifeng) October 9, 2018
3. I’ve generally been able to defend the CFA in the past, at least seen the rationality behind the policy from a Chinese way of thinking, but this? There’s no rational explanation unless this is meant as a return to the 70s/80s Soviet style of sports training
— Brandon C. (@modernleifeng) October 9, 2018
Because that makes sense, right? Let’s try to improve these players but not let them play against the best competition they could play against. While I’m accepting of a lot, this part of the policy pushes me over the edge, there is no good that comes from this
— Brandon C. (@modernleifeng) October 9, 2018
His WEF colleague Cameron Wilson also points out that the camp appears in direct contravention of FIFA rules, though the international governing body apparently remains unmoved by the development:
The CFA is in clear breach of FIFAs “Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players” – rules also stipulate national FAs risk being banned from calling up players if they persistently break rules. Does calling up 55 players outside an international window count as persistent? pic.twitter.com/WjXOCQA8BE
— Cameron Wilson 韦侃仑 (@CameronWEF) October 9, 2018
The whole affair seems even more embarrassing and ludicrous than this slice of classic Chinese footballing action:
It’s not unreasonable to argue that Chinese football needs some radical rethinking for the national team to establish itself on the world stage. But with mind-boggling moves like this, the prospects of China’s men’s team making it to a World Cup any time soon seem remote.
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