In 2009, Chinese authorities recognized the need to foster grassroots development in order to improve the standard of football within the country. The China School Football Program, a joint cooperation between the Sports Ministry and the Education Ministry, with the Chinese Football Association on board as technical consultant, aims to provide children across the country with the chance to get involved in football from a young age.
In August of this year, Tom Byer, a renowned youth development coach, famous in Japan for training a generation of children via workshops, comic books and television programs, was enlisted to provide support to the CSF and develop grassroots football across China. Byer, a former professional player himself, has devoted his post-professional career to developing grassroots football in Asia. The success of Japanese football in recent years has been directly at
