Grassroots leagues revive China's football dream

NANJING, China - An amateur football league organised by farmers, students and factory workers in rural China has unexpectedly drawn millions of fans and inspired big cities to form their own, raising hopes China can grow talent from the ground up and finally become a global force.  

The nation of 1.4 billion people has around 200 million football fans, more than any other country, but it has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of pre-screened candidates. 

The professional game is marred by a history of fixed matches, corruption, and dismal performances, with President Xi Jinping's dream that China would be a football superpower by 2050 appearing as far away as ever. 

But in 2023, the success of the so-called Village Super League (VSL) turned the page for Chinese football history. 

The league won legions of fans with its passionate matches, half-time folk performances and prizes of livestock, boosting local tourism and economies and even winning praise from Xi in his 2024 New Year's speech. 

Grassroots football "embodies people's pursuit of a beautiful life and presents a vibrant and flourishing China to the world," said Xi, the first and only time he mentioned football in his New Year messages since coming to power. 

BIG CITY LIGHTS

The buzz has encouraged big cities to take a chance on amateur leagues in the hopes of replicating the VSL's commercial success. 

The spectator response has been overwhelming.

The November 1 final of the inter-city Jiangsu Super League (JSL), organised by the provincial sports bureau and 13 city governments, drew 62,329 spectators, just shy of the record 65,769 spectators at a 2012 professional game. 

Another 2 million people who could not get the 20 yuan ($2.81) tickets - compared to as much as 1,000 yuan for CSL seats - streamed the final online.

Online viewership for the JSL's 85 matches surpassed 2.2 billion streams.

Three hours before kick-off, fans marched into the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium holding banners and coloured smoke sticks. 

They waved flags and chanted slogans in support of their home teams. Fans from the other 11 cities that did not advance to the final also turned out to represent their defeated teams. 

In the dramatic penalty shootout, the city of Nantong narrowly lost to Taizhou.

ROAD TO THE BIG LEAGUES

Taizhou supporter Cai Liang, 39, said he had been unsure of whether to encourage his son to pursue football. 

But his son, whose interest grew after watching Taizhou defeat Zhenjiang in July, had other ideas. 

"I'd play football more often," said the 14-year-old.

The scandal-ridden reputation of the professional game has deterred parents traditionally more focused on putting their children on an academic path from embracing soccer as a career.

Professional footballers have traditionally come through the very narrow state and national sports school system, meaning talent not evident at a very young age is missed. 

JSL's success has inspired other provinces to follow suit. Liaoning launched a league last year. Hebei and Inner Mongolia formed theirs in August, while Hunan and Sichuan kicked off theirs in September.   

There are early signs the amateur leagues are creating a pathway to the professional game.

Taizhou midfielder Wu Zhicheng, 18, became the first JSL player to enter China's top professional division in July. When asked after a pre-match training session if more players would follow in Wu's footsteps, Taizhou coach Zhou Gaoping said she hoped so. "There will be players advancing to national teams," said Zhou, the only female coach in the league and a former player on the women's national team.

HOPES RE-IGNITED

The Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre was once home to Jiangsu FC, a club that had former England manager Fabio Capello as its coach during the heady days of Chinese football's gold rush in the years immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Backed by cash from Chinese corporations, the Chinese Soccer League (CSL) attracted world-class talent and coaches from around the globe. Jiangsu FC won the CSL in 2020 but ceased operations less than a year later after Nanjing-based retailer Suning Group decided to focus on its core businesses. 

"Jiangsu FC regretfully disbanded at its peak and now Jiangsu's hopes have been re-ignited by the amateur league," said Li Jianlin, 33, a Taizhou fan. "Chinese footballstill has a future." REUTERS