The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said that it plans to earmark a total of $97.5 million (670 million yuan) for football development projects in China, as it bids to build on the long-term goal to make the country a global leader in the sport.
The Asia Times said that the funds will be distributed accordingly to these areas: 186 million yuan for all levels of the China national team (training, competitions, and coaching salaries), 121 million yuan for youth training, 64 million yuan for women's football, and 33 million for consultants and training coaches.
The remaining amount is set to be allocated to other areas: 234 million yuan has been apportioned for the promotion of football in China, operational costs, and the National Soccer Training Center, while 88 million has been allotted for funding major competitions.
Said expenses, representing a 45 percent increase compared to that of last year's, is part of this year's total budget coming from a total revenue worth 780 million yuan, Caixin Global reported. With that, it is safe to say that the CFA has a sizable profit margin that can help cushion its excesses in expenditure.
Budgeting on football is something the CFA hasn't done before, at least on a comprehensive level. While managing footballing budget on a market-oriented scale certainly introduces transparency, it has yet to produce concrete results, hence putting its optimality in question.
Such comes at a crucial point in Chinese football, given its current notoriety for breaking global transfer market figures with hugely-inflated sums for some of the best players that European talent has. Inflated salaries and transfer fees have since turned the heads of clubs, players, and agents in Europe alike.
However, the introduction of the CFA's three-foreign player rule has since placed incessant spending on players on hold, effectively preventing the creation of a bubble. The new rule, which also requires at least one China Under-23 to play per club match, has both destroyed and created opportunities.