Dutch expertise stoking soccer hopes

Under the guidance of Sport8 International, Chinese youth soccer players receive intense coaching from Dutch professionals at Beijing Shijia Primary School on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Aiming to become a world soccer power, China approved a national soccer reform plan in February inspired by Xi, setting a goal to increase the number of schools offering specialized soccer programs from the current 5,000 to 50,000 by 2025.

The lack of qualified youth training staff in China opened doors for the import of foreign expertise while boosting the business potential of a junior soccer market.

Bai Qiang, co-founder of Sport8, envisions a big surge in after-school soccer training services as a supplement to the already implemented soccer courses that are a mandatory part of the PE curriculum in Chinese primary and secondary schools.

"It's not enough for children to just practice on campus. They would also need more drills and guidance after school. The philosophy in Dutch soccer academies seems a natural fit in China, since it promotes soccer training as a tool for education, not just for athletic progress," said Bai.

Selected in the Nether-lands by Sneijder, another company co-founder, more than 40 Dutch coaches, including six employees on long-term contracts, have being visiting schools across China on a weekly or monthly basis to pass on their experience and skills to students and local trainers.

Jeffery Young, Sport8's soccer supervisor, expects that the combination of Dutch know-how and traditional Chinese education will work out very well for China in the future.

"I thought the idea of trying to educate trainers to have the top-down effect on grassroots football was the correct way to do it," said Young.