From the Ground Up

May 18， 2016 was a big day for the Middle School Affiliated with Renmin University of China （MSARUC） in Xibeiwang， Haidian District of Beijing， where China’s first football club for middle school students was established. Known as Sangao， the club consists of 20 players selected from five middle schools， including MSARUC and Guangzhou No.5 Middle School. Its coach is Pei Encai， former head coach of China’s national women’s football team.

On May 30， soon after its establish- ment， the club brought home the runner-up trophy from the 44th Asian School Football U-18 Championship in Gyeongjiu， South Korea. Their performance was the best for a Chinese middle school team in 10 years.

The “Chinese middle school football league” emerged as part of a new strategy for campus football development in China marked by organizing “all-star” teams of the best middle school players in particular regions. It was organized by the Chinese Middle School Football Association， with the MSARUC as the chair.

From Team to Club

MSARUC emerged as a football powerhouse early on.

In 1985， Li Lianjiang， then head of the school’s Physical Education Department， first proposed the establishment of a football team. He promised to win the Beijing championship within three years without sacrificing any of the school’s college-bound rate of 100 percent， and that every team member would strictly adhere to the school’s code of conduct.

He kept his word. In just two years， the school’s team beat everyone else in the city a year ahead of schedule. And the situation actually looked better than anyone could have expected： Of the team of 16， 14 were recruited by top Chinese college programs at Tsinghua and Peking universities， and the other two joined the Beijing Youth Football Team.

The school has also blazed bold trails in attracting social investments and connecting campus sports with the rest of the country. In 1988， it established a football school for kids from all walks of life. In 1992， it registered a youth football club， known as Sangao， riding the tide of China’s football system reform.

Youth football clubs are the foundation of a country’s football development， and Sangao Football Club is the oldest in China.

“The municipal sports administration of Beijing had no idea how to process Li Lianjiang’s application to establish the club because none existed at the time，” recalls Gong Renfeng， Sangao’s administrative head. “Li had to turn to Ma Guitian， then director of the administration， who forwarded the report to Zhang Baifa， then vice mayor， who approved the initiative and pledged to offer his full support to the club. The team eventually received full governmental sanctioning when it was formally registered with the Beijing Civil Affairs Administration.\"

The club faced new challenges as it progressed rapidly： It was always hard to find enough space to train. Too often， four teams practiced together on one football field.

Thanks to the efforts of Liu Pengzhi， then principal and president of the club， a football training base covering 180 mu was established in Yongfeng Village， Haidian District， after an investment of 30 million yuan. In less than two years from the end of 1998 to September 2000， a complex consisting of dorms， a teaching building， and six professional football fields was completed.

Building China’s “Ajax”

In the Chinese language， sangao means \"three heights.\" Since the day it was established， the club has aimed to produce football players of high moral quality， high cultural quality， and high skill.

Training can surely interfere with a youngster’s studies. As the name suggests， the club has committed to a mission of fostering good qualities in three ways.

Sangao has invested all of its resources to this end. The club has recruited top Chinese coaches. Of its 15 coaches today， six are Grade A rated by the Chinese Football Association， and one is Grade S rated by the Union of European Football Association.

The club also employs standout academic teachers， armed with the latest textbooks， for each age group.

“In 1997， the club traveled abroad to train for the first time，\" notes Director Gong. “Three teachers accompanied eighteen players to Mexico. Arranging academic tutors to travel with players has become a tradition since then. Every time a team leaves on a trip for a match or training， teachers go along so the students don’t fall behind on their academics.”

By June 2016， Sangao had fostered approximately 20 superb middle and high school football teams. Nearly 300 graduates have been recruited by China’s best schools such as Tsinghua and Peking universities due to their impressive academics accompanying the football skill. Moreover， some 100 alumni of the program are now football professionals serving China’s national team， China’s Olympic Football Team， Beijing Guo’an， and Belgium’s Brugge Club. In 2013， graduate Wang Shangyuan became the first Sangao player to go directly to a professional career in Europe.

During his stay in the Netherlands in June 1999， Li Lianjiang， secretary general of the club， visited Ajax Amsterdam， hailed the world-famous “Football Factory.” “I was deeply impressed by two things，” Li recalls. “The first is that coaches must follow the guiding principles of the club. Another is that the club attaches great importance to the culture of learning： All members go to class in the morning and train in the afternoon.” Both Ajax and Sangao share the same philosophy： Be a good student before becoming a good player. “This is how football should be，” continues Li. “And I’m sure that we can develop an ‘Ajax’ in China.”

“Over the last few years， our club has blazed paths for other schools to train fine-quality sports teams and produce top-shelf talent，” adds Li.

As China accelerates its reform of football， Sangao is undoubtedly leading the country in laying a solid foundation， so that one day it will grow into a football powerhouse.