China still remembers with much nostalgia its one-and-only qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals, held jointly in South Korea and Japan in 2002. The lone appearance on the world football stage ultimately ended in failure, however, as China lost all three of its initial group matches, a galling failure for everyone.

Still, it gave the people hope, and the government a direction. A chain of policy-making events is now hopefully going to create a similar success story in soccer to that of China's numerous medal-winning triumphs in successive Olympic Games.

In 2011, therefore, Xi Jinping, then vice president before rising to his present top position, expressed his vision for China's football with a three-point plan: to qualify for, host and ultimately win the world cup. These guiding principles created a baseline for China's advance in "the beautiful game."

By 2014, a new football curriculum had been introduced into schools across the country through a system of leagues overseen by Education Ministry not the Chinese Football Association (CFA). Football became a mandatory part of physical education at selected schools and the "Chinese School Football" program, engaging 5,000 schools at that time, was planned to be expanded to 20,000. 

However, lack of an adequate number of qualified coaches for schools proved a huge barrier, and it was therefore decided that the CFA would immediately launch a one-year program to train 6,000 coaching personnel.

Chaired by President Xi Jinping himself, China's central reform body approved a 50-point plan in 2015 to completely reform the structure of football management in the country. With an aim to further empower it, CFA was separated from the national sports regulator, the General Administration of Sports, and manned with professional footballers instead of administrative staff. 

The plan listed hosting the world cup and qualifying for finals as its long-term goals, with the year 2020 set as the milestone for establishing 20,000 special soccer schools, to be expanded to 50,000 in the subsequent five years.

Then came the final and the most comprehensive football promotion program to date: the "Medium and Long-Term Plan of Chinese Football Development." Issued in April 2016, it was designed to make China a "top class soccer nation" by 2050 and sets definite benchmarks for achieving the goal. 

The first stage was to increase the number of pitches nationwide. By 2020, there would be a statistical average of 0.5 to 0.7 pitches for every 10,000 head of population, increasing to one pitch in the ensuing 10 years. 

Secondly, the financial system governing football would be reformed to enable maximum growth of the sport and the clubs. Lastly, cultivation of a widespread and grassroots level football culture was planned – something that is already showing up.

The football fever that gripped China during the recent world cup in Russia shows the development of the game's cultural penetration. As tickets purchased by Chinese nationals in Russia were at a record high, the entire country back home was engulfed in football-themed decorations, events and advertisement campaigns. 

Major Chinese brands acquiring official sponsorship, thousands of Chinese fans packing the various venues around Russia and all enthusiasts sometimes staying up late to watch the tournament on TV were some of the signs of take-off.  

The year 2020 will be a turning point. The number of soccer academies in the country will be increased to 20,000. About 30 million students will be engaged and by that time an overall of 50 million people in China will be playing the sport. Moreover, 60,000 pitches will be in use, and, apart from mountainous areas, each county on average own two standard-sized pitches.

The situation today is definitely promising. Marcello Lippi, regarded as one of the greatest football managers, is coaching the Chinese national team, while Spain's Real Madrid is providing coaching services in Guangzhou and England's Manchester City launching football education in Beijing; the sport is on track to achieve good results. Around 680 million yuan has already been invested in the national football project, under which 50,000 new stadiums have been built around the country.

Meanwhile, the "Steel Roses," the women's national team as it is nicknamed, has been continuously blossoming. Far ahead of their male counterparts, they have not just qualified for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 but have also been showing consistent performance. Since they reached  the 1999 Women's World Cup final, only to lose a penalty shoot-out to the United states, they have continued to impress with their training and determination.

The men are also getting closer. They only failed to qualify for Russia by a single point, and now, with a fully-committed government behind them, everything looks rosy for those playing at the top level.

Daniel Hyatt is a freelance journalist based in Pakistan. 

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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