Taiwanese football faces deep structural issues despite World Cup expansion hopes

Taiwan's national football team faces deep-seated structural problems that prevent it from reaching the World Cup, according to Football Association President Chang Chien-chou. He described the past two months as the most challenging of his life due to public criticism.

Chang emphasized that the current struggles are not due to isolated matches or team performance but are the result of long-term, systemic issues. He believes the core problems lie in a shrinking football population and inadequate talent development.

A significant drop in participation is observed between the under-15 level, which sees over 12,000 players in the Allianz Junior Football World Cup, and the high school level, where only 27 teams registered for the latest league. This decline is attributed not only to declining birth rates but also to the uncertainty surrounding academic and career prospects in football. The domestic professional league, the Taiwan Football Premier League, struggles with low salaries and insufficient career security, causing many promising players to abandon the sport before reaching a professional stage.

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The current difficulties are not caused by a single match or the national team's record, but by long-term accumulated structural problems.

To address these challenges, the association is launching "Project Elite 2.0," a comprehensive youth development program targeting age groups from U9 to U13. This initiative will incorporate European and Japanese training methodologies, leverage FIFA resources, and establish a more scientific player data management system. The association is also exploring alternative participation models, such as 5-a-side football and county-level teams, and considering the establishment of "football schools" that offer academic and extracurricular support to alleviate parental concerns about football impacting education.

Historically, Taiwan's men's national team was a formidable force in Asian football, securing two Asian Games gold medals and one Asian Cup bronze. However, recent performance has seen them struggle in World Cup qualifiers and miss out on the U23 Asian Cup. Currently ranked 174th out of 211 FIFA member nations, Chang acknowledges that reaching the World Cup is a distant goal. He aims to first improve the world ranking by 20-30 spots and then focus on qualifying for the Olympics, setting incremental goals for the future.

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It's still a bit far-fetched to talk about the World Cup right now.