How to achieve a win-win situation between the National Games strategy and professional sports

  The popularity of the three-person basketball court of the Fourteenth National Games exceeded many people's imagination. Under the leadership of the host, more than a thousand fans attended the game and even played a "wave of people."

Coupled with the dazzling lights to enhance the atmosphere, the feeling of being in it is not just a game, but like a carnival.

  Not long ago, the Chinese Basketball Association announced that the Chinese Men's Three Basketball Professional League will be officially launched in 2022.

As the "transition season" of the event, the 2021 China Three-person Basketball Club Classic will start in mid-October.

This means that another top professional basketball league in China is about to emerge.

Poor performance in Tokyo Olympics, Chinese professional sports are questioned

  Two seemingly unrelated events are actually intrinsically connected.

  "It can be seen from the schedule of the league that the Chinese Men's Three-player Basketball League in the 2022 season is scheduled to be held after the end of the CBA that year. It will not affect the club's professional players to play the three-player basketball league. Therefore, the club The enthusiasm of the club is still very high." The vice president of a club seemed very excited when interviewed by a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily.

  At the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the three-person basketball event made its debut, and the Chinese women's three-person basketball team won a precious bronze medal.

Outstanding athletic performance and a good mass foundation have also made the three-person basketball professional league come into being.

However, what is interesting is that the Chinese Basketball Association took the lead in launching not the women's three-player basketball with better performance for the national team, but the men's three-person basketball professional league.

It is not difficult to see from this that the Chinese Basketball Association's intention to expect men's three-person basketball to create more market value is very obvious.

  "The three-person basketball market is good now, and the potential is huge, but the investment is relatively small. It may be about 5 million yuan a year for a team, which is more than investing tens of millions and hundreds of millions in a season to raise a CBA ball. The team is obviously more cost-effective. Therefore, people in the industry are looking forward to it, like Guangdong, there should be at least two three-person basketball clubs participating in the league." The vice president of the club said.

  However, whether the three-person basketball professional league can improve the competitiveness of Chinese basketball in the world and the Olympics is a big question mark.

  One and a half months ago, the Chinese women's basketball team regrettably lost to the Serbian team in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games.

However, the results of this quarter-final are already the best results achieved in the Tokyo Olympics among Chinese football, basketball, volleyball and other professional league sports.

  "It's strange to say that the more professional the men's events, the Olympic results are not ideal. However, the women's volleyball and women's basketball leagues in China are not actually professional leagues in the true sense. The results in the Olympics are still good." Said the vice president.

  Looking at professional clubs and professional leagues around the world, whether it is football, basketball, volleyball, or tennis, golf and other relatively professional sports, successful operation and commercialization is undoubtedly one of the goals of the birth of the league.

However, the purpose of the domestic professional leagues is not simple, especially the three-goal professional leagues. They also shoulder the task of cultivating talents for the national team. The league’s competition system and policies are constantly adjusted and changed. It needs to cater to the market for a while, and for a while. Also need to make way for the national team to prepare for battle.

  In the 2020 European Cup football match, the top four teams are Italy, England, Spain and Denmark. Among them, the national football leagues where the top three teams are located are all of the world's top professional leagues.

The US men’s and women’s basketball teams won the Tokyo Olympics strongly, and many of the main players from the strong European and American teams also played in the NBA and WNBA. The rest of the players also basically played in the top European clubs. The basic role of the league is obvious.

But for China's professional sports, the higher the degree of professionalization of the project, the worse the performance in the Olympics, which has almost become an embarrassing reality.

The contradiction between the National Games strategy and professional sports still exists

  When professional sports cannot help football, basketball, volleyball and other high-profile sports to achieve good results in the Olympics, what role should the National Games play?

  In the men's basketball U19 match of the current National Games, the Guangdong men's basketball team is strong. They are composed of young players from the three clubs of Guangzhou Longshi, Guangdong Hongyuan and Shenzhen New Century.

In the 12-man roster, young players such as Xu Xin, Sun Haoqin, Wu Zihan have been successfully registered by their professional clubs, which means that they will appear in the CBA next season.

  Obviously, for them, the National Games is a springboard.

"In the new season, I will start from defense." Xu Xin, who is 2.24 meters tall, said in an interview with reporters. "The National Games is a very good training platform for me. I am very aware of my strengths and weaknesses. As for the CBA league, because there is a big brother in the team, I have to be steadfast, step by step, and try my best to help the team."

  Five years ago, the Guangdong Men's Basketball Team led by Xu Jie, Hu Mingxuan, and Shen Zijie won the men's basketball youth team of the 13th National Games.

Now, they have grown into the main players of their respective clubs, and some are already important members of the Chinese Men's Basketball National Team.

  However, there is not always harmony between the National Games and professional sports.

The game time of the 12th Liaoning National Games is from August 31st to September 12th, because the time coincides with the U.S. Open.

In order to avoid the Grand Slam, the China Tennis Association deliberately communicated with the Twelfth National Games Organizing Committee and adjusted the tennis match schedule accordingly, but at that time Li Na still did not choose to play in the National Games.

  Of course, the current National Games has a similar situation.

Due to the conflict with the Chinese Super League schedule and the national team preparing for the Asian World Cup qualifiers, no professional players from the Chinese Super League participated in the football game, which greatly reduced the viewing of the National Games football game.

Not only that, due to the reduction in the number of football items in the National Games and the reduction of the schedule, the role of the National Games in cultivating young players in various provinces and cities and giving young players more opportunities for competition has also been reduced a lot.

  In addition, the interests of the various local teams represented by the National Games will more or less affect the performance of professional sports and the national team.

  One of the important reasons for the poor performance of the Chinese women’s football team at the Tokyo Olympics is that after the Olympics, the National Games women’s football competition will be played in the form of a joint Olympic team. If the joint team wins the championship, the provinces and cities where the players are located will receive a gold medal at the National Games. Therefore, Before the Chinese women’s football team suffered injuries before the Olympic Games, the injured players had to be substituted by the original provincial and municipal players into the national team, which became an unwritten “hidden rule”, and this was also one of the reasons for the defeat of the Chinese women’s football team at the Olympic Games.

The National Games is a stage for young professional athletes to show

  It can be seen that between the National Games and professional sports, there is a mutually reinforcing relationship, but there are also many contradictions that are difficult to coordinate.

But it is also undeniable that as my country's sports reform continues to deepen, the contradiction between the two will gradually resolve.

  "The National Games does have its own meaning." Beijing Shougang Women’s Basketball coach Zhang Yunsong told China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter, "Take the women’s basketball as an example, because the local sports bureaus have a different understanding of the National Games. Teams that have the task of winning the championship will have more pressure, but for our team, the National Games is a very good opportunity to play, especially for those who have fewer chances to play in the league, or the team wants For young players trained, it is definitely a good opportunity to improve."

  Since young players need to compete, simply exclude professional league sports such as football, basketball, and volleyball from the National Games. Is it a better choice to develop professional leagues with peace of mind?

  In this regard, Zhang Yunsong did not give a clear answer.

He just emphasized that from the perspective of clubs and teams, making the league better will play a very positive role in the development of the project.

  However, if the National Games cancels professional sports, it is very likely that the result is that the reserve talents of professional sports such as football, basketball, volleyball and so on in various provinces will shrink.

You know, most of the echelon talents of CBA and Chinese Super League clubs come from the training of professional sports system.

  Walking on many legs is the best choice.

During the Tianjin National Games, the Shanghai delegation purchased services through the government, allowing old coach Xu Genbao to lead his youth army and SIPG’s youth echelon to stand on the stage of the National Games, and the performance of these two teams was also very eye-catching. : Coach Xu Genbao led the Shanghai U18 men's football team to win the championship, while the Shanghai U20 men's football team led by Cheng Yaodong advanced to the top four in the group.

  In this National Games, the Shandong U19 men's three-person basketball youth team cooperated with Tsinghua High School. Shi Kui, Yang Xihao, Xie Li Yongwei, and Li Xinyi are all student athletes.

Representing Beijing in the three-on-three adult group of the National Games is Chen Lei's Tsinghua University basketball team.

  There is no antagonism between the National Games and professional sports, but interactive integration and mutual development.

On the one hand, the National Games provides a stage for young professional athletes to show, become their "outpost" towards professionalization, and a ladder to a higher level.

On the other hand, if the schedule and competition system are coordinated and set up, and famous professional athletes compete in the National Games, it will also bring high attention and market value to the National Games, which will make the National Games "break the circle" and bring Come to more levels of social influence.

  Our newspaper, Xi'an, September 21st

  China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Yang Di Source: China Youth Daily