What has Chinese football done in 2024? The Football Association report says so!

On January 9, the second meeting of the 12th Congress of the Chinese Football Association was held in Beijing. In the morning, Zhang Jiasheng, deputy director of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China and secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Football Association, delivered a speech, and Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association, made the "2024 Chinese Football Association Work Report" in the morning.

Song Kai summarized 2024 as "a year for football work to rebuild confidence, get back on track, and start anew in the "2024 Chinese Football Association Work Report". Its performance can be summarized in the following six points:

A historic breakthrough has been made in the governance of professional leagues The referee public evaluation system has been well received, and the cross-departmental cooperation has achieved remarkable results in cracking down on "fake gambling", and more importantly, the reform of "separation of management and management" has taken substantial steps, and the Chinese Football Federation has been approved to be established.

Remarkable results have been achieved in the construction of the national team The national football team has won two consecutive victories in the top 18, especially the team's spirit has been recognized by all parties in the society; The U19 and U16 men's teams performed well against opponents of the same age in South Korea, boosting their confidence in preparing for the 2025 U20 Asian Cup and U17 Asian Cup.

Youth football is making solid progress The construction of 16 key football cities and 8 pilot areas for the integration of sports and education in the western region has been accelerated; The construction of 5 high-level reserve talent bases and 50 provincial and municipal men's and women's football youth training centers has been continuously strengthened; In addition, 72 teams in the men's U13 and U15 national finals of the 3rd China Youth Championship participated in the full quota for the first time; The Chinese Football Association obtained the two-star membership of the AFC Elite Youth Training Program, and the Suzhou base was awarded the AFC Youth Academy of the Year.

Social football comes alive For the first time, the Chinese Football Association was awarded the AFC Grassroots Football Charter Gold Membership, and Tianjin Pengcheng Football Club won the 2024 AFC Best Grassroots Football Club Award. The number of registered football players in social football has grown by leaps and bounds, exceeding 500,000, an increase of 160% compared to 2023.

The construction of professional talent team has achieved the expected goals There are 150 A-level coaches, 625 B-level coaches and 1,559 C-level coaches. The total number of registered coaches exceeded 100,000+.

Confidence in the development of the football industry has been significantly enhanced More than 7.58 million people watched the three-level professional league throughout the year, and the average goal of the Chinese Super League reached 3.13 goals per game, reaching the highest in recent years. The selection and competition organization of the five home games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round of 36 and Round of 18 have been highly recognized by the AFC.