China's Football Association also unveiled another plan aimed to resuscitate the moribund Chinese soccer industry, which has been buffeted by spiking operating expenses and staffing costs, exacerbated by soccer fans' gripes about the ineptitude of China's Football Association and Chinese footballers. That's why most Chinese soccer buffs would rather watch Premier League at home instead of the Chinese version of Super League.

One part of this plan, which says naturalized soccer players who are not descendants of Chinese should be treated as foreign players instead of domestic players, has drawn flak from Chinese soccer buffs and sports journalists. They argue that it would be a mistake for China's Football Association to discriminate against naturalized soccer players in this way, not least because they have already become Chinese citizens. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C., which is currently the most successful soccer club in China, would be the victim of this part of plan since it has more than six naturalized players , most of whom were born in Brazil. China's Football Association reportedly put this part of plan on ice after being reprimanded by soccer fans and some journalists covering soccer.

Yet a reporter covering soccer in China suggests that China's Football Association may be experiencing an internal conflict, which sees Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C. and Shanghai SIPG Football Club joust for supremacy. "The real enemy of Chinese soccer happens to be China's Football Association. It's a place riddled with bureaucracy and patronage " a reporter wrote on Weibo, which is China's answer to Twitter or Facebook. " "They only get shook on fighting a turf war within the system. They just know how to line their own pockets," he groused. "Where do we go from here?"

Nobdy knows.