This Day, That Year

Item from Oct 29, 1987, in China Daily: Gao Fengwen, head coach for China's national football team, signs his name for football fans at Beijing Airport early yesterday morning after they flocked to meet the team which beat the Japanese team 2:0 on Monday and earned a place in next year's Olympic finals. The win meant China qualified for the Olympic finals for the first time in history.

China is gearing up to achieve its goal of becoming a global soccer power.

In February, the State Council approved a national plan to reform the development of the sport, with another 45,000 schools specializing in soccer in the pipeline.