French flair for new breed

The production line that rolled out the likes of Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona and Kylian Mbappe, is now set to manufacture Chinese talent.

The Clairefontaine National Football Center on the outskirts of Paris is credited with producing many of France's 1998 World Cup-winning squad and rivals Barcelona's La Masia academy as one of the world's most prestigious soccer schools.

Last week the center signed a partnership with Beijing-based sports marketing and consulting agency Shankai Sports to open its doors to Chinese players.