Sources: The United Development Group, in which Tang Ye held shares, planned to form strategic partnerships with four J1 League clubs.
Japan Football Association announcement: The JFA would sign a partnership agreement with UDG and share its three national training centers in Tokyo, Kanto, and Kyushu with China. Please await further announcements for the specific details.
Japan had only just lost the AFC Asian Cup final, yet it was already beginning a partnership with China. This made some Japanese fans extremely angry.
"I don't understand why we have to cooperate with China. Their youth development system is inferior to ours. We're the ones losing out by working with them, even if UDG can bring Japanese players to Europe. Tajima—Kozo Tajima—is wrong!"
Reporters from Tokyo magazine interviewed several young Japanese fans and asked for their views on the matter.
They had only just lost the match, and the Japan Football Association had folded far too quickly.
If you were going to kneel, couldn't you at least wait until next season started?
For the three days following the Japan Football Association's announcement, it was heavily criticized by fans. Then something interesting happened: as time passed, public opinion surrounding the JFA's partnership with UDG gradually began to turn around.
"Come to think of it, we basically don't need to give up anything. We only need to provide training facilities and coaches, and those are things we already have."
A Japanese host on Kanto Radio said, "In the long run, we are the ones benefiting, because we can send more Japanese players to Europe without paying too high a price. This is a good thing, not 'kneeling to China,' as some people claim. Japan Football will never kneel to anyone."
"Yes, we have seen the transformation of China national football team, especially in recent