Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

China's qualification for this year's FIFA U17 World Cup after a 21-year absence serves as a timely morale boost in the youth development of Chinese football and reaffirms that sustainable youth training demands patience and long-term commitment.

China booked its place in the quarterfinals of the AFC U17 Asian Cup with a 2-0 win over Qatar on Tuesday, while also securing qualification for the U17 World Cup to be held in Qatar.

It marked China's return to the global U17 event for the first time since 2005, ending the 21-year drought of Chinese men's national football teams across all age groups missing out on major world tournaments. During the Peru 2005 U17 World Cup, China reached the quarterfinals. 

China will join fellow competitor countries Australia, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the World Cup, with the final draw set to take place in Zurich on May 21. The tournament is set to run from November 19 to December 13.

China's return to the U17 World Cup could be viewed as a new beginning, Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times. For China, returning to the tournament means a new generation can directly experience top-level football culture and intensity at an early age.  

Liu noted that the qualification could help rebuild confidence in improving China's youth training system. 

Chinese football has faced repeated disappointments at the senior level, with the men's senior national team having reached the FIFA World Cup finals just once in 2002 and failing to qualify for the tournament ever since. Youth success does not guarantee future senior success, but it suggests that reforms in academy construction, school football programs and professional club youth systems may be starting to produce results. 

In recent years, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and clubs have increased emphasis on grassroots football, regional youth leagues and cooperation with foreign coaches and academies. 

At a youth training conference held in Beijing in 2023, CFA President Song Kai said youth development work should shift its focus from chasing results to improving training quality and cultivating talent.

In 2024, China unveiled comprehensive reform and development guidelines to promote youth football. Promoting the popularization of football to all young people, persisting in the integration of sports and education, and cultivating well-rounded football talents are among the principles set in the guidelines. 

In April, the CFA launched a five-year "Youth Inspiration Plan" to send promising young players to football powerhouses abroad for training, competition and daily life.

Eligible Chinese players aged 15-23 will receive financial support for overseas professional training, access to high-level matches and stable living conditions, while youth teams may also receive support to compete in top tournaments abroad, according to the plan. 

The U17 qualification offers evidence that sustained investment in development, rather than short-term pursuit of results, is essential.

The success stories of football powerhouses across the world have shown that the laws of football development must be respected, and youth training philosophy should shift from an obsession with delivering immediate results to the long-term goal of developing a talent pipeline, Wang Dazhao, another sports analyst, told the Global Times.

Grassroots tournaments such as the Su Super League in East China's Jiangsu Province and community-level competitions can encourage broader public participation in football, help expand the football population, and strengthen the foundation of the game, said Wang.

The number of registered youth players across China rose to 109,200, up 24.88 percent over the past two years. China has 126,000 registered coaches, including futsal coaches, with 16,000 newly certified coaches added in 2025, according to data released by the CFA in January. 

A painful lesson Chinese football has learned is that impressive youth performances do not automatically translate into senior success. 

The previous cycle of "brilliant youth teams, mediocre senior teams" has left Chinese fans questioning the youth development system. Talented young players often disappeared before reaching their peak, unable to secure stable playing time or adapt to the far greater demands of professional football.

The real test is whether this generation can continue progressing through the U20 and U23 levels into the senior national team, and whether China can consistently qualify for major youth tournaments instead of treating this as a one-time breakthrough, Liu said. 

Extended centralized training camps for international tournaments, lack of playing opportunities in domestic leagues and the difficulty of adapting to the higher physical and tactical demands of senior football are some of the major challenges facing promising young players.

If China can turn this qualification into a stable pipeline for talent development, the significance of the achievement could extend far beyond one tournament appearance.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn