China to become soccer powerhouse by 2050

Chinese fans celebrate the Chinese team's qualification for the 2002 World Cup Finals on Oct 7, 2001 in Beijing. It was the only time that China made it to the World Cup. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The avid attention on the game's rise from the country's top government is really inspiring and the ambitious targets have started to push for progress," said Pei Encai, former national women's team coach who now runs her own youth training program.

"It remains a long shot for China to catch up with the world's best given the relatively weak grassroots foundation and the lack of facilities and coaching expertise," said Pei.

"Rather than envisioning one day to dominate the world, we should focus more on implementing allthe necessary measures to build a solid base for the game from bottom up."

According to the outline, the school system is targetting to involve 20,000 schools to specialize in soccer education from the current number of 8000. More than 30 million students is forecasted to practice soccer regularly by 2020. More than 5,000 school soccer coaches will be trained while 70,000 fields will be built through refurbishment and new construction in the next five years.

According to the Ministry of Education, 146 government-funded youth coaches from overseas have worked across the country with students and teachers. Furthermore, 120 more will be invited this year.