Sao Paulo, Sep 29 (IANS) Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo announced on Monday that he will open 30 soccer schools in China and train Chinese youngsters with his special method.
When attending the opening ceremony of his soccer school in Campinas of Sao Paulo state, Ronaldo showed his optimism towards Chinese soccer market, and hoped his understanding of soccer could help China improve its soccer level.
“Besides business factor, the major reason for me to open soccer school in China is because there are lots of soccer fans and players in the country, and Chinese government and civil organization also focus on soccer development. I hope my method of soccer training could help develop Chinese soccer,” Ronaldo told Xinhua.
“I think Chinese soccer has the mass base and determination, but it may still lack the proper concept and training method,” Ronaldo added.
According to statistics released by Germany’s Transfer Market, the Chinese Super League (CSL) spent a record 108 million euros to buy players and coaches on the 2014-15 transfer market.
The Chinese league, which has been professional for only 20 years, stands second to only the English Premier League in terms of the money spent on transfers, topping most of the top-flight leagues around the world.
Last week, CSL sold its broadcasting rights for 8 billion yuan for the five years in 2016-20.
The Chinese government announced an ambitious soccer reform plan earlier this year, which includes the women’s team’s return to the world top class as a mid-term goal and the men’s side joining the world leading powers in the long run. Bidding to host the World Cup is also listed as a long-term goal.
Despite the investment and reform plan, China has been bothered by the lowly performance of the national sides. The men’s team just qualified for one World Cup finals, in 2002. Meanwhile, the women’s side is struggling to recreate their glory as the 1999 World Cup runners-up.
Carlos Wizard Martins, president of Ronaldo soccer academy, believed with the help of Ronaldo soccer academy, China could make progress on World Cup stage.