According to federal leaders, the reason for the command of the stiff physical training is that the corona virus should be defeated (by not playing matches) but still try to help fulfill President Xi Jinping's dream of making China a strong football nation.

"The men's and women's national teams and professional football clubs have been asked to strictly follow the instructions," the China Football Association writes in a statement.

"The head coach of each team is directly responsible."

16 hours a week

According to the training program, each team must practice at least 16 hours a week and players must meet set goals in leg bending, bench press and jumping.

Players must also have subcutaneous fat below eleven percent.

It should not be possible to cheat with the training before the law will be subject to inspections. The results of the unannounced visits will be published publicly.

The Chinese football league would have started in February but has been postponed indefinitely due to the spread of coronavirus.

Swedes Sam Larsson and Marcus Danielson have recently signed for Dalian, who has Spaniard Rafael Benítez as coach. Since the outbreak of the new corona virus, several Chinese teams have been in training camps in Europe.