"Indeed!" The moment the question was raised, Boss Huang felt a headache coming on. These were indeed problems that money alone couldn't solve.
Boss Wang, leveraging his influence, could easily place two or three, or even a dozen people as key players in various teams. However, for over a hundred people, the issue became far more complex. So many individuals wouldn't necessarily yield to Boss Huang's influence.
Furthermore, Boss Huang's usual modus operandi meant that for every person who liked him, there was an equal number who hated him.
Especially in Europe and the Americas, countless people wished to see Boss Huang dead and the entire Jiangnan Group devoured. The possibility of them showing Boss Huang favor was extremely slim.
Of course, Boss Huang wasn't one to be stumped. He quickly proposed a brilliant idea: "What if I buy a team in each of the five major leagues? Then, I can divide those 100 people into groups of 20 and directly form the first-team lineups for these five teams. Wouldn't that serve as excellent training?"
"Buy a team in each of the five major leagues?" everyone swallowed hard. Even the cheapest team in the top five leagues would likely cost over 100 million Euros to acquire. For five teams, that would amount to 500 million Euros, nearly six to seventy billion Renminbi. Boss Huang was truly willing to spend big.
However, the seasoned veterans of the football world quickly doused Boss Huang's enthusiasm with a splash of cold water. "Mr. Huang, I'm afraid that won't work. Each of the five major leagues has its own set of rules limiting the number of foreign players."
The most liberal is the Premier League. While there are no restrictions on registering foreign players, a work permit is required. However, a maximum of three foreign players can be on the field at any given time.
In La Liga, each team can register a maximum of three non-EU players, and at most, only three non-EU players can be on the field.
The Bundesliga has four registered player slots, but a maximum of three can play in each match. Additionally, each club is mandated to have at least 12 local players in its first-team squad.
The French Ligue 1 has the same rules as the Bundesliga, with the exception of no restriction on the number of local players.
Serie A nominally has no restrictions on the number of foreign players registered. However, they stipulate that Serie A teams can only sign one non-EU player each summer.
Furthermore, the Italian Football Federation has a "3+3" policy for local players, requiring each club to have at least three players from their own youth academy and another three players trained by youth academies of other Italian clubs. In addition to this, the number of foreign players on the field at any given time is limited to three.
Ultimately, the rules of various national football associations are designed to cultivate outstanding local players. After all, when it comes to the World Cup, foreign players must return to represent their respective national teams. The top five leagues cannot be expected to train players specifically for other countries.
"This is indeed quite troublesome!" Boss Huang couldn't help but feel a headache upon hearing this. The person continued, "Moreover, if we buy a large number of foreign clubs, we also need to consider the sentiments of the local populace."
"For example, a company in our country has purchased AC Milan. They claimed it was to cultivate local players for China. However, when a few youth players were sent over, they were heavily criticized by local media and the public. The first team also vehemently ostracized these players, ultimately achieving nothing and wasting their talent."
"Hmm!" Boss Huang gently tapped the table. This was a problem that even the world's richest man, Huang He, couldn't immediately find a solution for.
"Mr. Huang, I have an idea!" a former national team goalkeeper, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"What idea?"
"Why must we insert players into existing teams? We can simply send an entire team to participate in the local league!" the goalkeeper said.
"Oh! Tell me quickly!" Boss Huang exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes, there has always been an unwritten tradition in international football. To help players from developing countries improve, it is permissible to arrange some of a country's teams to play in other countries' leagues."
"For instance, just a few years ago, Hiddink led the Olympic team to participate in a German local league. Although it was only a fourth-tier league, and they only played one match before returning, this is undoubtedly something that can be arranged and complies with the regulations of various national football associations!"
"All we need to do is organize a few youth training teams and, under the guise of cooperative training, have these youth training teams participate in various countries' local leagues for training."
"Moreover, theoretically, as long as we obtain permission from that country's football association, our youth training teams can directly bypass the lowest-tier local leagues and participate in that country's highest-tier league. The only caveat is that these teams will not earn points during matches and will not be eligible for the playoffs. They can only participate in regular league matches."
"However, we wouldn't be aiming for league championships. Being able to participate in the daily league matches to train the team would be the best outcome. And the best part is that we can have all the players play together in one team, cultivating their synergy over five to six years. This way, when it's time to compete in the World Cup, the team will be ready to go without needing to worry about team integration issues," the goalkeeper explained.
"Excellent! This is a good plan!" Boss Huang slapped his thigh excitedly. But someone couldn't help but murmur, "So, theoretically, it's possible, but how would the top leagues in various countries allow our teams to just come and train? And without points, they might not even play seriously against us, rendering it somewhat ineffective."
"There's no need to worry about that!" Hearing these difficulties, Boss Huang said dismissively, "I am very aware of the nature of football associations worldwide. The reason they didn't agree before is that you didn't offer money, only sought to save face and make polite gestures. How could they possibly agree?"
"I will directly negotiate with the football associations of the five major leagues. As long as our youth training teams are allowed to participate in the local top-tier leagues, I will directly sponsor the football associations with 1 billion US dollars, and each of the teams in the league will receive a sponsorship of 20 million US dollars. Whoever dares to refuse me is going against the entire league and the football association. Let's see which team dares to refuse."
"As for playing seriously, if any team can score a goal against our goal, I will give that team 500,000 US dollars. Similarly, if our players can score a goal against the opponent's goal, I will reward the entire team with 1 million US dollars. This will be distributed as bonuses, guaranteeing that all teams will give their utmost effort in competing against us, perhaps even more intensely than in a final!"
"..." Boss Huang's generosity once again left everyone speechless, and this seemingly insurmountable problem was thus easily solved.
"Then, we are left with the final problem, which is our Football Association issue! How do we get all the players we select to join the national team?" Sun Hai finally said. "The national team is, after all, a collective entity that considers the interests of all teams in the league. It's impossible for all players to come from a single team, as this would harm the interests of all teams in the league."
"Based on past experience, we can secure about half of the slots on the entire roster. It is very difficult to directly replace the entire national team roster with our players."
"I understand the Football Association matters too!" Boss Huang said calmly. "This is actually the easiest to handle. Just offer money. Give the Football Association 1 billion, and each team another 100 million, and the matter should be settled. If not, we can double it. I don't believe there's anything money can't achieve!"
Well, this time, there were truly no more problems.
After the meeting concluded, everyone who attended felt their blood boiling with excitement. If all of this could truly be executed according to Boss Huang's plan, then the entry of such a formidable Chinese team into the World Cup would almost be a certainty.
They could even afford to ponder how to overcome the challenge of China advancing from the group stage.
However, despite Boss Huang's willingness to generously offer money during the meeting, was he truly willing to spend so much?
"Boss, this is a detailed plan drafted based on the meeting's content. We estimate that it will cost 20 to 30 billion US dollars to realize this plan!" Boss Huang's secretary was very efficient. As soon as the meeting ended, she had compiled a detailed plan and the relevant quotation, presenting it to Boss Huang.
"This is so cheap! Only 30 billion US dollars to get the Chinese team into the World Cup!!!" Seeing this quote, Boss Huang was quite surprised. He finally said with a broad smile, "We must fully consider the difficulties that will be encountered in this matter. How about this, I will allocate a budget of 50 billion US dollars for this endeavor. If it's not enough, I'll add more money. Additionally, let's set our sights higher. The South Korean team managed to reach the semifinals, so let's aim for the semifinals as well. That's not asking too much, is it?"
Indeed, it turned out Boss Huang had underestimated his own plan.
Boss Huang's execution ability was terrifyingly formidable. Before the players who attended the meeting could even share their excitement with others or leak the meeting's content, they discovered that Jiangnan Group's publicity had already comprehensively covered the entire internet.
"China Cannot Be Without the World Cup! World's Richest Man Spends 50 Billion US Dollars to Build the Grandest World Cup Fund!"
This was the video title that practically swept across the entire internet that day.
As everyone knows, Mr. Huang He, the world's richest man from Jiangnan Group, had recently encountered some troubles regarding the World Cup. Mr. Huang ultimately decided that China must enter the World Cup.
Therefore, Mr. Huang decided to invest 50 billion US dollars to establish the China World Cup Foundation, with the goal of helping China reach the World Cup over a 10-year period.
The first phase has now commenced. The China World Cup Foundation will be searching nationwide for 1,000 children with rich footballing talent to form the nation's strongest youth football training camp.
As long as your child meets the following criteria:
1. Between the ages of 5 and 10, male.
2. Healthy, with no cardiovascular or other diseases unsuitable for sports.
3. Excellent physical fitness and a certain interest in football.
4. A calm and resolute personality, capable of enduring 5 years of intensive, secluded training away from parents.
As long as your child meets these four conditions, they can proceed to the selection venues of the China World Cup Foundation across various regions to participate in a two-month selection process.
All parents who bring their children to the selection will receive a travel subsidy of 100 Yuan. If your child advances to the second round, they will receive a travel subsidy of 10,000 Yuan and will also receive complimentary hospitality from Jiangnan Group to be screened in various provincial capitals.
Furthermore, considering the potential negative impact of football training on academic studies, the China World Cup Foundation solemnly promises that we will hire the nation's most outstanding teachers to provide cultural education for your children.
Additionally, all children who are selected for the top 1,000 roster and successfully complete 5 years of secluded training will be granted direct admission to Jiangnan University without examination, and the opportunity to join Jiangnan University upon graduation.