Borussia Dortmund has launched a new football academy in Beijing, marking the fifth such facility the club has established in China. This move is part of the club’s broader strategy to develop football talent in the region, reflecting a growing interest from top European clubs in China’s potential as a footballing powerhouse.
Carsten Cramer, Managing Director of Borussia Dortmund, expressed confidence in the importance of being close to local communities. “The more grassroots you are, the better it is,” he told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. He highlighted the role of football academies in engaging young players and fostering a new generation of supporters for the club.
With eight Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy to its name, Borussia Dortmund is renowned for its youth development system, which has produced stars like Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Mario Götze, and Marco Reus. The club’s focus on nurturing young talent is highly regarded by Chinese fans.
However, Cramer emphasized that simply copying Germany’s system is not the solution. “It has to be balanced, not just copy and paste the German system without recognizing that Chinese players and their educational context are different,” he said. The club believes that fostering genuine interest in football is key to youth development, allowing young players to have fun and stay motivated as they grow.
Dortmund’s efforts in China are not just about developing future stars for professional football. The academies also serve as a means of introducing the sport to a broader audience and connecting with new fans. Cramer noted the importance of intrinsic motivation in young players, which he believes leads to eventual success.
While Dortmund has yet to visit China in recent years, due to scheduling conflicts, the club remains eager to engage with its Chinese fanbase. “If invited, we would come immediately,” Cramer said. The team’s absence is due to their commitment to the Club World Cup in 2024.
The Bundesliga, having established an office in Beijing in 2019, has become a dominant European league in China, with five Bundesliga clubs now having a permanent presence there. Eintracht Frankfurt, for example, opened a football school in Shenzhen in November 2024.
In addition to club-level efforts, the Bundesliga has been working to give Chinese youth players more exposure to German football. In 2024, the Chinese national under-16 team trained with Bundesliga youth teams and participated in competitions with clubs like Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart, and Bayer Leverkusen. This collaboration has paid off, as evidenced by the team’s performance in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers, where they advanced to the main tournament.
The Bundesliga’s initiative aims to inspire young Chinese players to pursue their dreams, with the goal of eventually bringing more Chinese talent to the Bundesliga. Sun Fulian, an official from the Bundesliga’s China office, explained that the program serves to encourage young players to stay committed and offers German coaches the opportunity to identify promising talent.
Cramer believes that such cultural exchanges are mutually beneficial. He sees football as a bridge that unites people despite any geopolitical tensions, offering the potential for deeper cultural and political connections. “Sport is really able to bond people together and not separate them,” he said.
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