Full-time, well-paid match officials would improve game, CFA says Impressed by China's national soccer reforms, the game's continental governing body - the Asian Football Confederation - pledged more support on Tuesday for the training of coaches and referees to help the country realize its soccer ambitions. As China rolls out a national blueprint to develop into a world soccer power, developments from grassroots promotion to league competition have intrigued Windsor John, the visiting general secretary of the confederation. "We are very pleased about the reforms that have taken place in China. The growth in attendance and popularity of the Chinese Super League is a very positive image for Asian football," said Windsor, who is on his first official visit to China since taking the helm in 2015. "The performance of the CSL clubs has become the benchmark for other clubs in Asia." Since the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a soccer reform plan in early 2015, with the goal of becoming a strong soccer nation by 2050, investment in the league has surged and the level of competition has improved, highlighted by domestic champion club Guangzhou Evergrande's victories at the AFC Champions League in 2013 and 2015. Still, the lack of enough qualified coaches and relatively poor officiating have been taking a toll. Windsor said the confederation is prepared to help. "There are a lot of new programs we are talking about with the CFA," he said, referring to the Chinese Football Association. "One of these is referee training, which is critical to improving the standard of referees." Following a plan unveiled by the confederation last week to professionalize referees as early as next year, the confederation is prepared to send officiating experts for exchanges and training events in China on a more regular basis, Windsor said. Most of China's referees serving domestic leagues are part-time officials with jobs as college teachers or coaches. A system in which referees would work full-time - and with decent income and transparent assessments - would improve the quality of the game, said Huang Shiwei, spokeswoman of the CFA. A coaching convention with the CFA will be signed at the end of 2017 to authorize China to organize AFC-certificated coach training courses customized based on its own situation, Windsor said. "As you embark on a big plan through 2050, you need a lot of coaches. This convention comes at a good time for China to start producing top coaches on its own, not relying on AFC's programs," he said. [email protected]make your own wristbandlivestrong braceletcheap custom wristbands24hourwristbandsballer bandspersonalised silicone wristbands ukfabric wristbandscustom rubber bandscustom rubber wristbands
A nurse checks villager Wang Funi at home in Jiaozuo, Henan province, with an all-in-one diagnostic device in March. LI JIANAN/XINHUA ZHENGZHOU - Suffering from coronary heart disease, 79-year-old Wang Funi was amazed to find out that she can have routine medical tests done at her rural home. In the past, it would take 50 minutes to travel by electric tricycle to visit the nearest county hospital, and her husband or children would have to take a break from work on the farm to accompany her. It's time-consuming. Now there's no need for the trip. All the basic tests can be done free at home, she said. With the help of a new portable all-in-one diagnostic device, Zhang Xiaozhan, a doctor in Erpuying village, Henan province, where Wang lives, conducted eight tests on her in about 20 minutes, ranging from measuring the electrical activity of her heart to checking her blood pressure. The device offers the biggest benefits for the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, reducing their need to travel long distances to hospitals and wait in long lines, Zhang said. At the start of this year, the city of Jiaozuo purchased around 600 all-in-one diagnostic devices and offered them to teams of local family doctors. Weighing just five kilograms, one of the devices can run multiple routine tests, from measuring blood pressure to urine and blood analysis. Li Zhenhui, sales manager at mobile healthcare company Garea, which provided the devices, said that the machines can do more tests if auxiliary medical equipment is connected. The company usually sends experts to train village doctors. Test results are stored as electronic files on the city's family doctor service platform as a reference for further diagnosis and treatment. Wang's team of doctors has six members. Liu Yingying, a general practitioner at the health center in Jiayingguan township, is one of them. Liu said the team has signed contracts with more than 4,000 local residents, including a priority group of more than 500 patients. Some have chronic diseases, while others are rehabilitating and need special attention, Liu said. The team needs to visit each patient in the priority group at least four times a year. It's a formidable task. The all-in-one diagnostic device can improve the quality and efficiency of our service, Liu said. Tian Qingfeng, a health management researcher at Zhengzhou University, said there is an uneven distribution of healthcare resources in China, with advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment, and the best doctors, concentrated in big cities. Technology can improve rural access to quality healthcare, Tian said. Xinhua
