年轻足球运动员梦想赢得世界杯

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　　The most urgent goal for football schools around China is to shake off the country's lowly place and move up on the ladder.

　　The Evergrande Football School, in southern China's rural Qingyuan city, has invested heavily to become a breeding ground for China's soccer talents.

　　Many students in the co-ed school, share the dream about joining the Chinese national soccer team, including 11-year-old Wang Shijie.

　　"When I join the national team, I will do my very best to win the World Cup."

　　年轻足球运动员梦想赢得世界杯

　　The school signed an eight year contract with European giant Real Madrid.

　　Since then, the club has sent 24 coaches to drill not just the children, but also the hundreds of Chinese coaches at the school.

　　Fernando Sanchez Cipitria, technical director at the academy in Guangdong and a former player for Real Madrid, has spent three years in China.

　　He said the students are hard working but needed to learn to play as a group.

　　"Technically¹, 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."

　　Property giant Evergrande Real Estate Group has spent 2 billion yuan since the academy's opening in 2012.

　　The school is expanding and has already opened a branch in Spain, where 50 of the China campus' best students receive further training there.

　　The school's executive principal, Liu Jiangnan, said he is confident the Chinese national team will become one of the best soccer teams in Asia within a decade.

　　"I think in ten years' time, there shouldn't be a problem for China to be one of the best teams in Asia. After ten years, a large group of my students here will become top football talents. I firmly believe this."

　　Led by the Chinese president, a football fan, China has clearly made it a goal to become a soccer superpower.

　　Chinese authorities are also providing vital political support to the move. Local governments have helped subsidise television licence fees to support local teams.

　　However, corruption² in football circles remains³ serious. At least nine officials, four judges, 13 footballers or coaches and 17 club workers have been jailed or punished in crackdowns since 2009.

　　The only time China qualified⁴ for the finals of the World Cup was in 2002, when the tournament was jointly⁵ hosted by South Korea and Japan.

　　China was dismissed at the group stage without scoring a goal and conceding nine.

　　For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

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