Official Bundesliga Congratulates China’s U-17 Team for Qualifying for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Many Players Have Trained with Bundesliga Clubs

Recently, China’s U-17 team performed outstandingly in the qualifiers of the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup and successfully advanced to the main tournament next year. The official Bundesliga also issued a statement congratulating the Chinese U-17 team and noted that many players on the team received professional football training from German clubs through the “Dreaming of the Bundesliga” program last year.

The official statement from the Bundesliga read:

On October 28, 2024, the China office of the German Football League (Bundesliga) called the Chinese Football Association to congratulate the Chinese U-16 men’s national football team on their successful qualification for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup.

On October 27, 2024, in the final round of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese U-16 men’s team drew 2-2 with South Korea. Despite being tied with South Korea, they secured their place in the main tournament as one of the five best second-placed teams. The main tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia in April 2025.

Back in February this year, the Chinese U-16 men’s team was invited by the German Football League Association and ultimately selected 20 outstanding players to participate in the “Dreaming of the Bundesliga (Bundesliga Dream)” project. They traveled to three Bundesliga clubs—Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen—for a three-week training program.

Throughout the project, the Chinese players received authentic Bundesliga football training and engaged in exchange matches with the clubs’ youth teams, continuously improving their skills. Ultimately, two standout players, Yao Junyu and Yang Qiandong, were invited to stay at the newly crowned Bundesliga champions, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, for an additional week of integrated training, broadening their international horizons and refining their techniques. The project was also filmed into a six-episode documentary, which received support and encouragement from Chinese fans.

In the current AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers, eight players who participated in the “Dreaming of the Bundesliga” project—Yao Junyu, Yang Qiandong, Sun Tianyu, Buniyamin Abudushalamu, Wang Yi, Zhang Chengrui, Wang Gengrui, and Liu Binglin—were selected for the national team. They scored a total of 7 goals and provided 7 assists, playing crucial roles. Yao Junyu and Yang Qiandong, who participated in the integrated training at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, combined to score 5 goals and had outstanding performances in critical moments.

Pehr Nobert, Chief Marketing Officer of Bundesliga International, congratulated the Chinese U-16 men’s team on their excellent performance and stated: “The Bundesliga is one of the best platforms in European mainstream leagues for nurturing Asian players. Through the successful implementation of the ‘Dreaming of the Bundesliga’ project in China, the German Football League Association aims to create a long-term path for outstanding young Chinese players to eventually compete in the Bundesliga.”

Song Kai, Chairman of the Chinese Football Association, said at the launch ceremony of the “Dreaming of the Bundesliga” project: “The development of Chinese football requires an international perspective, problem-oriented approach, and adherence to innovation. Only by fully competing in an open market can we achieve significant progress.”

The German Football League Association will continue to closely monitor the performance of outstanding Chinese football players and treat every young player with a strong passion for football with an open and equal attitude.