Chinese Football Association Holds Thematic Lecture on Reflections of China-Japan World Cup Qualifier, Calls for All Football Workers to Strive for Progress

On October 24, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) held its seventh learning lecture. Zhang Jiasheng, Deputy Director and Party Group Member of the General Administration of Sport of China, and Secretary-General of the CFA, delivered a thematic lecture titled “Reflections on the China-Japan World Cup Qualifier.”

In this lecture, Zhang Jiasheng compared the China-Japan match on September 5 with the China-South Korea match on June 11, analyzing the shortcomings in the China-Japan match in terms of match objectives, tactical arrangements, communication and collaboration, and team morale. He also pointed out long-standing issues in national team management, including the roles of CFA leadership, the head coach’s leading role, the players’ primary role, the functions of the National Team Management Department, and the coordination and cooperation among various departments, by referencing multiple instances of national team failures in the past.

In response to these issues, the CFA is committed to immediate rectification. It has proposed nine specific measures, focusing on strengthening the CFA’s leadership, promoting effective integration of the head coach’s leading role and the players’ primary role, and extending national team development to clubs. These measures aim to comprehensively correct deviations and genuinely promote the establishment of a new national team management and service mechanism.

The lecture emphasized that all football workers should take the China-Japan match as a mirror for reflection, remain confident, and strive for progress. They should focus on key tasks such as youth training, professional league reform, national team construction, and association self-construction, working hard to provide strong support for the revitalization and development of football.