Soccer schools: China dreams of World Cup glory

Dec 08, 2015 In line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s dream of winning the World Cup, the country is setting up several football training academies.  At Guangzhou Evergrande’s huge soccer academy in south China, over 2,500 students are trained on 50 full-size pitches.

China currently sits on 84th out of 209 countries on FIFA’s ranking; as a result the country is training an army of young players with the hopes of shaking off its low status in the world’s football ladder.

Fernando Sanchez Cipitria, technical director at the academy in Guangdong and a former player for Real Madrid, commented on the program saying:

“Technically, they are very good. What they lack is the ability to play together as a group. They have to understand that football is not just kick the ball and run, which was what we saw in the beginning when we arrived. They also need more patience, and they need to make better decisions as a group in the field,”