Sound bites

"We didn't expect the youth training camp to cultivate future national team stars. We just wanted to stimulate the children's interest in the game and hopefully they can keep it alive and strong by participating for fun in the future no matter what they do as a career. Once the number of participants grows big enough, elite talents will emerge for sure."

Ma Yuan'an, former national women's team coach who led the squad to runner-up finishes twice - at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1999 World Cup in the United States

"The game's governing body should cooperate more closely with the education authority to work out a system where former professionals like us can maximize our expertise in the school soccer system as specially appointed school trainers after retiring from professional circles."