China to become soccer powerhouse by 2050

Huang Bowen's opening goal in a World Cup qualifier against Qatar on March 29 helped China secure a berth in Asia's final qualifying round after 15 years. The country aims to become a world leading team by 20150, said a new plan. [Photo by Wu Zhizhao/For China Daily]

With China still struggling to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the country has set its goal on transforming into a world-leading soccer power by 2050 through youth promotion and league development.

As the follow-up of an ambitious soccer reform inspired by President Xi Jinping last March, a long-term development outline was unveiled on Monday aimed at developing into a dominant power in Asia by 2030 and a world elite competitor two decades later.

The goal echoed President Xi's expressed wishes to see China qualify, host and eventually win the prestigious World Cup.

While China did advance into the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, team China, which qualified for first World Cup in 2002, seems unlikely to progress this time around as an underdog in the 12-team pool, where only for spots are offered.

Despite the slow progress of the national team, China's government push helped regain a moderate level of youth participation while raising the domestic league's profile internationally.

A four-tier school league system was been built by the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Football Association with more than 100,000 school games organized in 2015, involving 2.7 million student athletes.

The Chinese Super League, the country's top professional league, lured a high-profile legion of foreign players with a total worth of $373 million in transfer fees to play in its 2016 season. While broadcasting rights over the next five years sold for a staggering 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) last year.