Soccer reform leads the field

A football player from China's top club Guangzhou Evergrande celebrates victory after a match. [File photo]

The comprehensive program for soccer reform and development published on Monday provides a blueprint for the healthy development of the sport in China, says a People's Daily article.

The program involves multiple aspects related to the country's soccer, including its management system, the national team, professional clubs, football lottery, and campus football, as well as construction of playing fields. The document also includes soccer in the country's plan for social development.

The publication of the program demonstrates China's determination to remedy the maladies that have bedevilled the nation's soccer cause.

Soccer was the first sport chosen by the country to be its ice-breaking professional sport. Unfortunately, the country's soccer has failed to achieve satisfactory development over the two decades since. However, the lackluster performance has not weakened the public's enthusiasm and love for the world's most popular sport.

Now, soccer is once again being eyed by the authorities as a key area to advance sports reform and development.

There are high hopes among Chinese people that the country can really overcome the problems in its soccer development, uproot the short-term benefits mentality, and realize the long-latent "soccer dream" of its people.

For a better development prospect, China's soccer needs patience, perseverance and action. It also needs a mechanism not only suitable for China's national conditions but also based on international experiences.

China's soccer should blaze a trail for other sports to follow.