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Real Madrid has agreement to coach 225 Chinese youngsters

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Spanish sports newspaper Diario AS published on Wednesday the details of a contract by which Real Madrid has agreed to train a total of 225 Chinese youngsters.

Indeed the club has apparently been working in Spain with a group of 25 youngsters younger than 14 years of age, through the company "Soxna", who on their official website is described as "the company appointed by Real Madrid for the development of the football schools of the Real Madrid Foundation in China."

The youngsters are the best players in the Evergrande Real Madrid School, which was set up in Guangzhou after Real Madrid and the club Guangzhou Evergrande signed a collaboration agreement in 2011.

Fifteen coaches selected by Real Madrid are currently working in China and wear the Real Madrid club badge on their uniform whereas the coaches working with the Chinese children in Madrid wear the 'Sonxa' badge on their clothes.

Diario AS published photos of the contact, which was signed in China on August 11, 2014 in which Real Madrid expresses it's "co-operation for the development of international football players to a high-level."

The total cost of the operation is confirmed as over 13 million euros, (around 14.5 million US dollars) and the youngsters would each spend three years living and training in Spain.

Sonxa confirmed on February 19th that: "The Chinese government spoke to Soxna about the possibility of developing a master plan with the intention of integrating football into the education system in China."

"Soxna presented the project to Real Madrid, who did not hesitate to join as an official partner. On April 16 2013 Soxna, Real Madrid Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China signed an agreement for the development of the plan."

Only recently FIFA, the ruling body of world football expressed its worry about the recent trend of bringing Chinese students to countries such as Spain in order to continue their training away from their homes and their families.

Article 19a of the FIFA Stature for the protection of minors says: "all clubs that operate an academy with which they have a relationship of law and/or of economic ties shall notify the presence of minors who attend the academy to the federation in which the academy operates."

Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal currently work with Chinese youngsters as part of the Wanda Project, but these clubs have always been completely open about their part in the project. Endi