CHINESE soccer authorities have announced plans to receive 780 million yuan (US$114 million) in revenue for 2017 in the course of developing the country’s most popular sport.

    The Chinese Football Association (CFA) published their 2017 budget Tuesday.

    It was the first time that the CFA made their budget public.

    According to the CFA Work Report of 2016, which was released in a conference held in Central China’s Wuhan, the projected revenue for 2017 is 780 million yuan, 2 percent points higher than 2016, while the estimated expenditure went up by 45 percent, reaching 670 million yuan.

    The national teams at all levels will take the largest share of the spending, about 186 million yuan.

    The CFA, which separated from China’s General Administration of Sports in February 2016, also issued the CFA 2020 Plan at the conference, in which they set a target for the national team to break into the semifinals of the 2019 Asian Cup, to be held in the United Arab Emirates.

    China, now ranked 81st in the world, made it into the last eight at the last edition in 2015 in Australia.

    With booming investment flowing into soccer in recent years, the Chinese domestic leagues, including the top-flight Chinese Super League and the second-tier League One, have shocked the world by spending huge sums to attract star foreign players. But the CFA introduced new rules to bring down “irrational spending” on overseas players.(Xinhua)