A grave defeat of an Asian student soccer team against African students in China has stirred arguments about the importance of including foreign players in Chinese teams to develop the sport in the country.
With an overwhelming 8-0 win by the African soccer players of Xi'an Physical Education University team on May 22, discussions of having foreigners as members of the Chinese soccer teams have been unlocked.
Chief Editor Liu Xiaoxin of Guangzhou-based newspaper Soccer News said that the amateur and popularity level of soccer in China is still on a continuous setback.
The match between the Asian and African teams in Xi'an received positive feedbacks from many. However, people are speculating about whether the managers of soccer league teams consider victory as their priority during competitions.
Currently, there are no ethnic or national-related restrictions on the soccer players of the amateur league, as reported by the Global Times.
"This shows that some colleges' only goal in their sports programs is to win matches, which does not conform to the original objective of the league, although it is not against the rules," said Ma Dexing of Titan Sports magazine when asked about his thoughts on possibly forming an all-foreigner team that will represent China in the league.
However, insider Wang Qi said that having more soccer-playing international students in China is a good thing for the country as this means a wider diversity in the sports culture. Football styles from other countries can be shared among the players. This may result in the increase in the interest of local students to play the sport.
"In the education system, the number of students playing soccer drops dramatically in high schools and remains small during universities," said Wang.
In response to this, the Ministry of Education revealed its plans to encourage colleges and universities to build outstanding soccer teams.