Taking a leaf from Barca's book

Hebei China Fortune is aiming to become the Barcelona of the Chinese Super League when it comes to youth development.

The big-spending club, based in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, has launched a bold project which it hopes will become China's equivalent of Barca's famous La Masia academy, which has produced the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

In a joint venture with the Hebei Provincial Football Association, China Fortune hopes to provide soccer training to 30 elementary schools in 11 cities in the province over the next three years.

The initiative will also involve training 100 junior coaches in June and establishing a four-tier school-league system.

"Our goal is to develop into the best youth program in China, just like the La Masia academy of Barcelona. Hopefully, we could see more homegrown stars in our first-team roster in the future," said club president Zhao Hongjing.

With strong financial support from its current owner, China Fortune Land Development, the club has been constructing a world-class training base designed by international sports-venue architect Populous. The center is expected to be completed by April 2018.

The club has also hired a seven-member coaching team from Japan to guide its underage teams, led by Tsutomu Takahata, the former head coach of J League club Kawasaki Frontale.

Yang Ji, general manager of the club's youth training center, said the club will leverage its own expertise to help cultivate local trainers and physical-education teachers on campus.

"We have to fulfill our duty as a pro club by providing technical support in grassroots development as we look forward to using as many native stars as possible on our league roster," said Yang.

The club will also extend its scouting radar to the school league system in the hope of drafting promising talents for its reserve squads.

"Local children will be provided a channel from amateur participation in the game to developing into a career with their hometown pro team, which will be convincing enough for parents to allow their kids play the game while focusing on academic study," said Tian Jiangong, deputy director of Hebei sports bureau.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn