Belgian players celebrate during the Euro 2020 qualifying match against Cyprus on November 19, in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: VCG

The Belgium football authority is eyeing to win the European Championship next year, as the team maintained their strong position as the world No.1 since October 2018.

"Winning it [the European ­Championship] is not going to be an easy task, but with the players that we have right now, it's our ambition to go as far as possible," Manu Leroy, ­Director of Marketing of Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA), told the Global Times in a recent interview. 

"It is probably more difficult than to win a World Cup, it's the tournament that is with all the best teams in Europe."

The Belgium national football team has qualified for the 2020 UEFA European Championship with the maximum ranking points, by winning all games in the qualifying stage. 

Boasting several international stars including Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium is considered one of the most daunting sides in football. But they haven't won any titles since 1920, when Belgians won the football title at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics.

"Maybe winning a gold medal [at the European Championship] would be fantastic … The generation has been quite successful," he said. "It would be really great in 2020 like 100 years later to win again, the silverware will be fantastic." 

The most recent success of Belgium football was in 2018, when they reached the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, losing to the ultimate winners France.

Instead of traditionally hosting the European Championship in a single country, the 2020 edition will be held across 12 cities of 11 countries in ­Europe, as the event marks the 60th anniversary of the championship. That allows every team to travel to more places and influence more people to enjoy football. 

Deeper engagement with China

Belgium is also looking for a better engagement with the development of Chinese football.

"As China needs to develop players and coaches, Belgium can bring a lot of knowledge to China," Leroy told the Global Times. "We are very open to discussions. 

"There's a direct link in terms of youth development [between China and Belgium] and we have some specialists in Belgium. We have a couple of good academies at the club level, but we also have people who have worked a lot training coaches." 

The RBFA has also penned a deal with Lagardere Sports to promote its presence in China this year, both online and offline.

Li Ying, Managing Director of the Greater China region for Lagardere Sports, said Belgium football has the potential to be more influential thanks to its stars' popularity. 

"Unlike the European giants France, Germany, Italy and England whose reputations are already well ­established as a team in China, ­Belgium players' individual reputations among the young Chinese fans are very strong," Li told the Global Times. 

"We see a bright future in this and Belgian football will increase its influence in China." 

Three Belgian stars are playing in the Chinese Super League, with Yannick Carrasco at Dalian Yifang, Mousa Dembélé at Guangzhou R&F and Marouane Fellaini of Shandong Luneng. 

Belgium internationals Hazard of Real Madrid and De Bruyne of Manchester City have social media accounts on China's Twitter-like ­platform Weibo, with their fans numbering in the millions.  

Manu Leroy Photo: IC

Embedded in culture

For a long time, some Chinese parents considered football, or sports in general, as dangerous to their kids, as they may pose a "threat" to the children's safety. Leroy warned that Chinese parents should change their mind-set, as it is not only beneficial to the children's physique but also their mentality. 

 "You have to work with your body, but you also need to work with your head," Leroy told the Global Times. "Injuries are not inevitable. Children are able to play smartly."

"In every school that you go through in Belgium, children are playing football, though not necessarily on grass or a big pitch," he noted. "Sports is also embedded in the curriculum at school." 

Belgium has between 500,000 to 600,000 registered players, which means every local village is likely to have a football club, as the club number has reached 6,000, Leroy said.

"There are a lot of incentives to do sports and football. Belgium has the mentality to do a lot of sports."