John Yan: Reform the CFA or Dismiss the CFA 足协剥离,生吞活剥

足协剥离,生吞活剥

任何一条和中国足球体制改革的新闻,哪怕新闻源头很有些问题,都会让不少人兴奋,都会激起各种YY式的遐想和评论,因为在这个话题方向上,我们关注的不仅仅是中国足球,其实更是一种社会新闻的关注。

所以当”中国足协将和体育总局剥离、高层指示剔除行政指令”这样的标题出现时,我也被裹挟进入大众YY的洪流中,虽然我觉得这标题已经很可笑——高层指示剔除行政指令?这样的”指示”,本身是否也属于”行政指令”?新闻的诞生,来自于《足球报》,但是对于新闻源缺乏描述——这我们也早已习惯了,对于中国社会任何涉及到体制改革的话题,新闻源头都只能靠猜以及意会。只是新闻本身除了标题吓人以外,实质性内容毫无新鲜感。

改革就是管办分离,给中国足协真正的协会身份,不再以政府行政部门方式管理中国足球,彻底放权中国足协管理中国足球,不再让体育总局过多干预。报道言之凿凿,连未来机构设置调整,都有一些细节安排,并且援引一名足协人士感慨说:”这是中国足球最大的利好消息,1比5的学费总算没有白交。”

说来道去,无非是高层又不满了,领导又震怒了,看上去和许家印”1比5让我忍无可忍是耻辱”一个意思。于是要改革,而且是领导决定要改革。但是对于”领导”这个概念的理解,产生了多重复杂性:这当中既包括体育总局的领导,又包括体育总局领导的领导,可能还有更上面的领导的领导。

我不相信这样的改革能取得成功,甚至连向前挪动一步的可能性都不太具备,这明显是在为足协诿过,回避了中国足协本身能力低下,浮沉于体制之内,早已失去对一个市场化程度最高的职业运动项目的管理能力。领导怒了,要改革,但倘若改革如此进行的话,其实是保护了足协——不让国家体育总局更多行政干预足球事务管理,这样的思路未必错误,只是”放权让中国足协管理中国足球”的决定,会不会让人啼笑皆非?

这个机构的颟邗无能,已经得到了十多年来连绵不断失败的证明,不仅在国家队成绩上,而是在职业联赛管理、青少年足球普及、业余足球推广、市场拓展和内部廉洁等全方面的失败。一个机构如果溃烂至此,肯定不仅仅是因为几个为头的腐败堕落,而是从上至下遍布的问题。足协老大的位置,王俊生阎世铎算是安全着陆,谢亚龙南勇锒铛入狱,韦迪走得虽然凄惶,至少没有牢狱之灾,如今的张剑噤若寒蝉、无话可说。他们懂或者不懂行,所有决定的执行,都是通过足协中下层去执行的,以为拿掉一个老大,就能正本清源?

就像一惨败,就震怒,就”必须改革”一样,这更是政治反应,而不是真正为了提高中国足球。将”改革”的大旗打起来,又何尝不是新的一次危机公关、视线转移,让大家不再去顶着615惨败背后的原因,让大家暂且忘掉连年失败的凋敝,重新描画一张新的大饼。

615惨败的三大疑问依旧在那里飘荡着:有没有国脚消极比赛做掉卡马乔的可能?有没有俱乐部控制球员消极比赛的可能?有没有赌博集团操控比赛的可能?足协高层屡屡做出错误决定,那么中下层执行过程中,又是怎样去操作的,他们具备管理足球的能力吗?

前事尽忘,后事何师?解决不了眼皮底下的谜团,任何改革,都只是生吞活剥的画饼充


Reform the CFA or Dismiss the CFA

Not a single day passes without some new drama in Chinese football, the only thing that remains the same low competitive level and the mystifying football management talks.

Former Team China manager Camacho’s legal team is still in deadlock with CFA for his contract compensation payment, and FIFA or even CAS could be the next stages for solution-finding. But according to some media sources, the higher political echelon beyond the National Sport Administration (NSA) has been shocked by the miserable situation of football in China, and they have decided that more thorough structure reforms should be undertaken as soon as possible.

The story was first reported by Soccer News, a dying football newspaper, which has been in the same boat with China football. It quoted a hidden source from within the CFA, saying that higher political leaders had decided that the NSA has been meddling too much with football issues, and that has been the rotten reason for causing football failures, therefore, the coming reforms would be to depoliticize CFA, and make them a proper independent NGO, empower the organisation with more control over China football.

It sounds nice, and FIFA would love this tone of talk, because the CFA’s identity has always been a thorny issue for FIFA. In FIFA’s constitution, all national or regional FAs should be independent and stay clear of government involvement, but the CFA is an extreme opposite example: it is the same group of government employees with two titles, one is called China Football Association, for FIFA to enroll, the other is called the Football Sport Management Center of the NSA, a typical bureau class unit which belongs to the central government.

No government interference in FAs? The CFA is government!

If the future structural reform could really release CFA from the central government power map, it would be an ideal result for FIFA, but realistically speaking, it will be no help for Chinese football.

This is because the CFA is a decaying organisation that can only survive in the centralised bureaucratic system, and has no capability of serving and governing the sport in China as an industry custodian. The past 20 years of consistently continuous decline of China’s football would be the perfect testimony. And if you talk to football supporters in China, 99% of them would not give a vote to the CFA for football’s future in China.

Reform on rotten bodies, would be fighting for a losing cause. This kind of reform is more like another PR movement, to shift people’s attention from the horrible defeat by Thailand’s youth team and the Camacho scandal.

This kind of PR movement could be successful, as people’s memories are fading away. The cries for the truth behind the defeat by Thailand are not as strong as two weeks ago. Was that a fixed gam?Were some of the international players underperforming intentionally to get rid of the unpopular Camacho? Were there any influences from clubs to discourage their international players serving the national team?

The CFA remains silent.

However, Guangzhou EverGrande FC could not keep it cool. On July 11, a special club meeting was called in the headquarters of the EverGrande real estate development company. President Xu Jiayin, who likes to be called ‘President’, announced an eight clause company policy in regardi to all Chinese international players at the club. The policy includes that any player from Guangzhou EverGrande FC being recruited by the national team, would be reward by him with a 100,000 RMB (about £11,000) bonus; any international player from the club misbehaving or underperforming in the national team, would be punished with a 200,000 RMB (about £22,000) fine; any under 23 players from Guangzhou EverGrande being recruited by the full international team, would be rewarded with 10 million RMB (you guess the figure in pounds or Euros)!

A day before this EverGrande meeting, the new national squad was announced, four Guangzhou EverGrande players who played in the Thailand match were omitted.

John Yan is Deputy Editor of Netease.com

饥。