Boss Huang had not expected that the French would actively propose for the Chinese youth football team to directly play in the youth league. However, the French Football Federation was forced into this situation due to the incessant complaints from various clubs.
The reason the Chinese youth football team could smoothly play in the French league was that it was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both the Football Federation and the local clubs participating in the league.
The Football Federation could earn substantial sponsorship fees, while the clubs could directly generate significant revenue through wins and goal differences. With both parties' interests satisfied, they naturally worked in unison to push this matter forward.
However, the problem was that local clubs were currently unable to make money.
Initially, the clubs assumed the Chinese youth team would be a pushover, a team they could easily defeat, as this was the impression China's teams had left on the world.
But who could have imagined that this team would be so formidable? Apart from losing due to a lack of coordination in the early stages, they went on to dominate all other teams in the league.
This resulted in a very detrimental outcome: the league teams could no longer earn even a single Euro in bonuses from the Chinese youth team. Instead, their players' confidence was severely shattered.
It was said that later in the season, regardless of which club it was, upon learning that their next opponent was the Chinese team, all the players would immediately become dejected, lacking any motivation.
Because they could not defeat the Chinese team no matter what, and these Chinese youths were far superior to them in both skill and stamina, no one was willing to be repeatedly thrashed without any hope.
As a result, the morale of these young players continued to decline, leading to weariness in the later stages. Many promising players even decided to give up playing football altogether.
They felt that if they couldn't even beat the Chinese, they must be mediocre with no future.
Therefore, the clubs in the French youth league dared not let the Chinese team continue to stay in the league. If they were allowed to play for a few more years, the confidence of the entire French young generation might be destroyed. Thus, these clubs jointly demanded that the Football Federation repudiate the contract and expel the Chinese team.
But the issue was that the French Football Federation had initially signed a two-year contract with this team in one go, given the 100 million Euro sponsorship fund for two years.
Now, only one year had been utilized. What about the remaining year?
If the Chinese were not allowed to stay in the league, not only would the remaining 50 million Euros be forfeited, but the Chinese could also demand 200 million Euros in liquidated damages.
Therefore, the French Football Federation could not possibly let the Chinese leave. However, the clubs' stance was also clear: if the Football Federation did not let the Chinese leave, they would collectively withdraw from the league.
It was important to note that while this youth league was a formal league, it never made money. Consequently, no clubs were dedicated to managing this league. The participating clubs, apart from a very few football training schools, were basically top-tier French clubs participating in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.
According to the requirements of the French Football Federation, all clubs had to establish corresponding youth training systems, with three different age groups of teams established from the age of 10.
These were the junior teams, youth teams, and reserve teams.
The junior teams comprised boys aged 10-14, the youth teams were for boys aged 14-17, and the reserve teams were composed of reserve players who were capable of playing for the first team but did not make the first-team squad.
Generally, the majority of players in a mature team were expected to go through such a tiered selection mechanism, eventually progressing to the first team to become regulars.
Of course, there were also some players who were directly recruited foreign stars, but that was a separate matter. However, Ligue 1 had regulations to maintain its youth training system. Not only did it require every team to establish this three-tiered mechanism, but it also stipulated that out of the 11 players on the field, at least 5 must come from the team's youth training system.
Such regulations ensured that every team would invest significant effort in nurturing their youth teams and discovering local talent, as only local players could represent the nation in the World Cup.
It was precisely due to this system that France had consistently achieved excellent results in the World Cup.
Returning to the topic, the clubs could not allow their most fundamental youth training teams to collapse like this, as they would not be able to discover outstanding local players in the future.
However, the French Football Federation could not afford to lose 50 million Euros in funding. After rounds of negotiations between the Federation and the clubs, someone suddenly proposed a new suggestion.
That is, since this Chinese team could not stay in the junior league, and the Federation was unwilling to let them go, why not let them move up a tier and play directly in the youth league?
This move offered several advantages: Firstly, the Federation's annual funding of 50 million Euros would be secured.
Secondly, the morale of the junior clubs would be preserved.
Furthermore, this Chinese team was a junior team, with players currently aged between 11 and 16. This was three years younger than the 14 to 17 age range of the youth league.
This was not an age when human development stopped after 20 or when stamina began to decline. Instead, it was the golden period for human physical development, with explosive growth in stamina and physical fitness every year.
Therefore, despite the three-year age difference, the gap in physical fitness between the two teams was more than double. As a result, the youth teams could almost beat the junior teams into submission.
Even if this Chinese team was exceptionally strong, it would be impossible for them to defeat the junior teams.
In this way, the clubs could win again, and the performance bonuses and goal difference bonuses promised by Jiangnan Group would return, making it a win-win situation for everyone.
Upon hearing this, everyone thought, yes, this is a win-win situation.
Of course, this method certainly had its drawbacks. Letting a group of children who were generally two to three years older bully a group of young Chinese, and allowing them to directly move up a tier into the youth league, was considered a very unfair act by many. If this got out, the reputation of the French Football Federation might be tarnished.
Therefore, this matter absolutely could not be proposed by the French Football Federation. It had to be proposed by the Chinese themselves, with the French Football Federation pretending to reluctantly agree. Otherwise, it would become another classic "embarrass France" joke.
But the question was, would the Chinese be willing to do such a thing?
Did they not know how cruel it was for a junior team to play against a youth team?
It would be absurd if the Chinese agreed.
However, there was no other choice. Although the probability of the Chinese agreeing was low, the French Football Federation still had to try, as this was their only chance.
As expected, the Chinese initially refused such a request. The two sides parted ways unhappily three times in a row. Just as the representative of the Chinese Football Association was about to leave in despair, a glimmer of hope finally appeared during the fourth negotiation: the Chinese conceded.
The Chinese stated they could agree to the French request and would even propose the league change themselves, but the French would need to agree to several additional conditions.
The first condition was that France must treat the Chinese youth team with the same respect, allowing the Chinese youth team to fully participate in the entire season's proceedings without the situation of many teams unwilling to play in the later stages, thus reducing the Chinese youth team's schedule, as had happened previously with the junior team.
The second condition was that the Chinese team also hoped to gain league points. Similarly, the Chinese team would be eligible to compete for the championship. If they won, they would be eligible to lift the league trophy and be recorded in the official records as recognized league champions.
The third condition was that the Chinese team would only play in the youth league for one year. After one year, the French Football Federation would need to grant the Chinese team qualification to participate in the French third division league, with all benefits and treatment identical to normal top-tier league teams. Most importantly, if they won, the Chinese team could advance to the French second division league or even further to the French first division league, playing in Ligue 1 directly as a cooperative team.
These three conditions sparked intense debate between the French Football Federation and the league clubs.
Regarding the first condition, everyone had no objections. They were eager for the Chinese youth team to complete all their scheduled matches, as this meant more opportunities for them and more bonuses.
The second condition was also acceptable. It wasn't that they accepted the Chinese team lifting the championship trophy, but rather they absolutely did not believe the Chinese team could win the youth league championship. If they couldn't win it, agreeing to this condition was fine.
The only troublesome condition was the third one. The French third division league was acceptable, but the subsequent French second division and first division leagues were well-known leagues within France, attracting the attention of countless fans nationwide and even globally. If these leagues suddenly had a team composed entirely of Chinese players, the French Football Federation would truly face widespread criticism, and French fans might even resort to physical altercations.
However, the Chinese were firm on their stance: if this condition was not met, the French would either have to pay compensation or allow them to continue playing in the junior league.
After careful consideration, the French proposed modifications to the third condition. Firstly, they could not participate in the French third division league unconditionally. The Chinese team must first win the youth league championship to be eligible to participate in the French third division league.
Secondly, if the Chinese team wished to play in the French third division league, they would need to obtain the permission of the French fans.
The French Football Federation would conduct a nationwide vote. Only if over 70% of the fans voted in agreement would this request be granted. Otherwise, they would be torn apart by angry fans in the future.
After careful consideration, Jiangnan Group agreed, but the original two-year contract would be extended to eight years, with this Chinese team playing in the French league for the next eight years.
Finally, both parties successfully reached an agreement.