Goals go beyond star players

China's ongoing soccer reform is not aimed at nurturing excellent players alone, if indeed it does, it is also intended to set up a sound system to promote the development of the sport in the country, says an abridged article from China Youth Daily.

Following the publication of a comprehensive program for soccer reform and development by the Chinese government on Monday, the Japanese Sankei Shimbun cited a British poll as saying the program may lead to the emergence of 7,000 stars like Lionel Messi across China.

Responding to foreign acclaim of China's new soccer reforms, some Chinese netizens who have been discouraged by China's poor soccer performances have felt a sense of excessive flattery. Considering China's poor soccer record and the series of controversies and scandals involving soccer over the past years, no Chinese dares to believe a number of Messi-like soccer players will soon emerge in the country.