President Xi Jinping, an avid soccer fan, is recruiting thousands of kindergartens across the country to realise China's ambitious "soccer dream" to dominate the sport by 2050.

Key points: China signed several high-profile international players and coaches in recent years

China signed several high-profile international players and coaches in recent years China's men team currently ranks 71st out of 211 nations on the FIFA world ladder

China's men team currently ranks 71st out of 211 nations on the FIFA world ladder The women's team ranks 16 out of 158 and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Cup

Beijing plans to set up 3,000 kindergartens to foster China's next generation of soccer talent this year, with the first group of teachers undergoing training last week.

According to Chinese state media Xinhua, 400 kindergarten teachers and principals from some 30 provinces trained with staff from England's Football Association in Dalian city in north-eastern China.

Mr Xi has made no secret of his soccer dreams, having spoken openly about his desire for China to qualify again for the World Cup, to host the event and to win the coveted title by 2050.

He has also made the development of soccer a national priority.

China plans to established tens of thousands of soccer-focused schools by 2025. ( Reuters: Tyrone Siu, File )

A government blueprint published in 2016 set a goal to increase China's soccer-playing population to 50 million people within a decade, including 30 million students.

China has also invested heavily in the sport in recent years, boosting its domestic talent pool by signing a number of high-profile international players and coaches.

Earlier this year, London-born midfielder Nicholas Yennaris — known in China as Li Ke — became the first naturalised player to play for China's national side.

But fast-forward to today, China's men's team ranks 71st out of 211 nations on the FIFA world ladder and has only qualified for the World Cup finals once, in 2002. In comparison, Australia's men team is ranked 46.

The Chinese women's team has fared much better, with a current ranking of 16 out of 158 and finishing as runner-up in the 1999 World Cup.

Men's team has 'sucked forever'

Xi Jinping is a self-proclaimed soccer fan. ( Reuters: David Moir, File )

While Mr Xi's purported affinity for soccer has been tossed up as a reason for China's emphasis on the sport, Jonathan Sullivan, who co-established the China Soccer Observatory at University of Nottingham's Asia Research Institute, believes it's a red herring.

In fact, he noted in the Observatory's e-booked "China's Soccer Dream" that Beijing had been trying to reform Chinese soccer since the early 1950s.

"Maybe it was a factor in deciding to go all in on sport, but there are many useful strategic purposes that make sense, [so] I think Xi's purported affinity for footy is largely irrelevant," Dr Sullivan told the ABC.

"What's not irrelevant is the fact that the reforms have Xi's imprimatur and thus everyone has to take them seriously — and since Xi will probably be around [for more than] two terms, the footy program should have legs."

He added that the sustained investment in physical infrastructure, academies and training of coaches would "take years to bear fruit in a high-profile way, such as the men's national team qualifying for the World Cup on a regular basis."

"The domestic league had been mired in corruption and indifference for years, the men's national team has sucked forever," he said.

"Chinese football was a complete afterthought for the vast majority of Chinese people (even if they sat up late to watch or bet on the Premier League or World Cup matches).

"There was no real infrastructure or culture to build on, so the fact that they have come this far I would consider promising.

"There is a very long way to go, but they have a 50-year plan and substantial financial and political capital behind it, so I wouldn't bet against making significant progress toward their goals."

China could host the World Cup as early as 2030

Xi Jinping wants China to win the FIFA World Cup by 2050. ( Reuters: Dylan Martinez )

While it still seems like a moonshot for China to win the World Cup in the near future, Beijing could place a bid for the tournament as early as 2030 if FIFA decided to change the rules to allow countries from the same continent to bid after skipping one World Cup cycle.

Under current rules, the earliest China could bid to stage the game is in 2034 because Qatar — which is part of the Asian Football Confederation — will host the 2022 World Cup.

But despite China sitting out of the last few World Cup tournaments, Chinese sponsors had a huge presence at last year's game in Moscow.

Many World Cup sponsors last year were from China. ( Reuters: Maxim Shemetov )

Chinese conglomerate Wanda's branding was plastered all over the Luzhniki Stadium, while Chinese companies — including smart phone developer Vivi and fridge maker Hisense — also dominated official sponsorship.

Dr Sullivan said China's ambitions to be a leader in the sport ranged from addressing childhood obesity and public health to establishing a lucrative sports, leisure and entertainment industry.

It's seen as having potential to "contribute to the recalibration of the economy to giving a boost to national pride, getting Chinese brands known globally and, more nebulously, as a 'soft power' vehicle," he said.

He pointed to the Chinese built-stadium used to host 2015 African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea as an example.

"Major football powers like Brazil and England have made substantial 'soft power' gains out of their footballing style, competitive successes and leagues," he said.

"It is easy to discount the possibility of China achieving this kind of level, but the CSL (China Super League) has TV deals in nearly a hundred countries.

"Its teams have had success in the Asian Champions League and Chinese brands sponsor half the Premier League clubs and go on tour to China every summer."

China has made significant investments to promote soccer domestically. ( ABC News: Bill Birtles )

Back in China, Wang Dengfeng, head of the Ministry of Education's department of physical, health and arts education, also highlighted the significant investment to promote soccer domestically.

He was quoted by local media as saying that football was the focus of physical education for some 20 million students in more than 24,000 primary and secondary schools.

China also has plans to create an additional 30,000 soccer-focused primary and secondary schools by 2025.

Mr Wang said kindergarten was a key stage in the development of children's sporting interests, habits and skills — and the 3,000 kindergartens selected would conduct game-based soccer training to cultivate students' interest in the sport.

