The "U23 player policy" may be abolished in the new season [Professional leagues have been implemented for 6 seasons and have not achieved the expected results. It is gradually becoming a trend that young players are reused]

　　Since the launch of the U23 player policy that began in the 2017 season, it has been controversial due to its pros and cons.

After this policy has been implemented for 6 consecutive seasons, is it necessary to continue to use it?

According to a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, the implementation of this policy has had very limited effects in recent years, and the U23 player policy is likely to be abolished in the 2023 season.

　　debate

　　U23 player policy pros and cons

　　In the 2017 season, the Chinese Football Association and the professional league management department officially launched the "New Deal for U23 Players" in light of the scarcity of excellent domestic players at all levels of clubs and the lack of talent supply for professional leagues and national teams.

The introduction of the U23 policy has increased the club’s use of young players to a certain extent. Rookies such as Zhang Yuning, He Chao, Wei Shihao, and Yang Liyu have successively entered the main lineup of the national football team or other national teams. Lei, Feng Boxuan, Guo Quanbo, Guo Tianyu, Xu Haofeng and other players also took advantage of the U23 policy and once became an important new force for the club.

　　However, the disadvantages of the U23 policy have gradually emerged in practice.

Since the U23 policy was first introduced in the 2017 season, the tournament organizers will adjust the specific rules of the policy in each season. For example, the policy implemented in the 2018 season is that the number of U23 players in each Super League team must be linked to the number of foreign players. Arranging U23 players to appear on the field has become an arithmetic problem that the coaching staff must solve every round besides skills and tactics.

In order to prevent frequent chaos, the Chinese Football Association adjusted the U23 policy from the 16th round of the 2019 Chinese Super League to the following: each team must have at least one U23 player on the field in each game.

　　Effect

　　World qualifiers lineup verifies it falls short of expectations

　　Although teams like the Guangzhou team and the Dalianers have achieved certain results in implementing the U23 player policy, in the context of the overall scarcity of high-quality domestic players, the best U23 players are often concentrated in a very small number of clubs , So the "God Operations" of many clubs came and went.

For example, in the Chinese Super League in the 2019 season, the former goalkeeper of the Tianjin Tianhai team came off the bench as a forward, and was replaced by another U23 player after 4 minutes on the field; during the season, Henan Jianye U23 player Yang Guoyuan played against Jiangsu Suning, The Beijingers and Shi, respectively, made their first appearances in the game, but were replaced at 2 minutes 12 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds respectively.

　　In late May 2021, the Chinese men's football team is preparing for the Qatar World Preliminary 40 match against Guam at home in Suzhou. This is also the first official international game coached by then coach Li Tie after taking over the team.

However, the average age of the 27-man national football lineup is 29.56 years old. Among them, there are as many as 16 players over the age of 30, more than half. The post-95 players in the team are only Zhang Yuning, Wei Shihao, and tomorrow. There is no U23 age players.

This shows that the U23 policy is not having the desired effect.

　　trend

　　Young players are still reused without relying on policies

　　Of course, the implementation of the U23 policy has objectively driven the flow of U23 players in the domestic transfer market, and the value of U23 players has also increased significantly with the support of the policy.

Some players even gave up studying abroad because they could not resist the temptation of big contracts. Even if they sit on the bench in the domestic arena, they still enjoy it.

When the value and value of U23 players are seriously inconsistent, the order of the domestic professional football transfer market will inevitably be disrupted. U23 players actually add to the club's operating costs and overwhelm investors.

It is naturally difficult for such U23 players to provide strong support to the national team.

　　In the 2022 season, the Chinese Super League and various clubs have encountered unprecedented difficulties. Due to operating pressure, most clubs have tightened their money and reused local players, especially young players.

For example, the Guangzhou team and the Hebei team rely on the all-China class throughout the season, and the U23 age group players in the team use a very high proportion.

Although the Zhejiang team and Shanghai Haigang team in the first group continue to rely on foreign aid, in most rounds of the league, the use of U23 players has already changed from passive to active.

As for the teams in the middle and lower reaches, the utilization rate of U23 players is generally quite high.

　　Should the U23 policy be continued?

After the end of the 2022 Super League season, this issue was placed in front of the event organizers and clubs.

Judging from the fact that many U21 players such as Haigang Li Deming, Guoan Yan Yu, and Shenzhen Football Club Li Ning made their debuts and made contributions to the team at the end of the Chinese Super League last season, clubs no longer need policy promotion in terms of using young players.

As far as the growth law of football players is concerned, it is abnormal for U23 players to rely on policy support to appear on the field.

　　According to the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, the Chinese Football Association and the Chinese Football Federation preparatory team will conduct in-depth research on the formulation and adjustment of the rules of various competitions in the new season. Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that the U23 policy will be abolished in the new season. Therefore, it will become a trend for Chinese league teams at all levels to reuse young players.

　　Text/Reporter Xiao Nan Coordinator/Wang Yong

　　"Beijing Youth Daily" January 6, 2023, page A08