On November 20, the Oriental Sports Daily published a column by Shen Lei titled “Chinese Football is Seriously Ill.” The article points out that the foundation of national and representative teams is always the league. This is a truth derived from over three decades of football professionalization. However, our league is already sick, and it would not be an exaggeration to say it is “seriously ill.”
The report states, “Throughout the season, only 31 U21 players in the Chinese Super League (CSL) have had the opportunity to play. Among them, nine players only appeared during garbage time (after the 80th minute) in one match, while another two played twice with a total time of less than 15 minutes. The total playing time for all U21 players was a mere 8,431 minutes.”
In addition, the report mentions, “The total playing time for all foreign players in the 2024 CSL season was 158,161 minutes, accounting for about 33.4% of the total time.”
The author believes, “There are very few domestic players in their mid-twenties who can shoulder the responsibility, and the situation for U21 players is even more dire. Only Baihelamu Abuduwaili (1,035 minutes), Wumiti Jiang Yusu (1,015 minutes), and Hu Hetao (988 minutes) have come close to the 1,000-minute mark.”
In conclusion, the author summarizes, “The data from the CSL has fully reflected the harsh reality of the current youth training system in Chinese football.”
