CSL champs Evergrande aims for all-Chinese squad by 2020

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China's most successful football club, Guangzhou Evergrande is aiming to set a trend for the entire Chinese Super League (CSL): decreasing the number of foreign players signed and building an all-Chinese team by 2020.

Evergrande Group founder Xu Jiayin, a leading investor in the club, announced the goals at a pre-season motivational conference. The club, which has won six CSL titles, aims to win four trophies in 2017, including the Asian Champions League and the CSL, and to build a competitive all-Chinese squad by 2020.

Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Group, shaking hands with players. /CFP Photo

It is part of the club’s reform plan announced by Xu, who set ambitious goals for the club’s 2017 season as well as the far future.

Besides cutting the number of foreign players, Xu called for a greater focus on the training of young Chinese players. He also suggested expanding the reward mechanism for domestic players.

Evergrande players hold training session. /CFP Photo

Xu put forward a reform plan to cut expenses and increase revenue at the club, the reigning CSL champion. “Our revenue comes mainly from tickets sales, which are not good enough to cover our expenses,” he said. He added that the club will shift to a strategy of “increasing earnings through player exchanges and build up the team through young player training instead of buying.”

The final goal of the club is to “contribute to the development of Chinese football,” announced Xu.

CFP Photo

The Chinese Football Association published a new policy for domestic leagues last month, allowing a maximum of three foreign players and at least two under-23 Chinese players in the match-day squad, in order to bring down spending on foreign stars and give more chances to local players.

(With inputs from Xinhua)