A Zhejiang FC youth team thanks supporters after a match. [Photo provided by Zhejiang FC]

Zhejiang FC has earned three-star academy status under the AFC Elite Youth Scheme, the highest level in the Asian Football Confederation's youth academy certification system.

The academy is among the first professional football academies in China to receive the certification. The recognition also contributed to the Chinese Football Association obtaining three-star membership in the AFC Elite Youth Scheme.

The three-star assessment covers a wide range of areas, including staffing, development planning, youth competitions, coaching qualifications, player recruitment, medical care and rehabilitation, sports science, education, infrastructure, training philosophy, and academy management.

Zhejiang FC upgraded both its facilities and management as it worked toward the certification. The club improved facilities including a dedicated gym and medical rehabilitation center, while coordinating pitches and equipment more closely across different age groups.

A central part of the academy's development has been its youth training syllabus, finalized in early 2022 after four years of work.

The syllabus sets out a unified approach for teams across the academy, covering football philosophy, playing style, training principles, daily management and standards of conduct.

Its core principle is "player first", meaning coaches and academy administrators are expected to put player development at the center of their decisions.

The syllabus, developed jointly by Chinese and Japanese experts, continues to be updated as football evolves.

Wang Weisheng, a Zhejiang FC official, cited goalkeeper development as an example. The club now uses the term "goal player" in its training system to reflect the broader demands placed on modern goalkeepers.

Rather than focusing solely on traditional shot-stopping skills, young goalkeepers are trained from an early age to participate in passing and build-up play with the rest of the team, alongside specialist goalkeeper training.

Zhejiang FC has supplied more than 180 players to Chinese national teams at different age levels and trained more than 200 professional players. Academy graduates account for more than 41 percent of its first-team squad.

Five players in the China team that reached the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup final came through Zhejiang FC's academy. Senior internationals including Zhang Yuning, Wang Yudong, Cheng Jin, and Liu Haofan are also academy graduates.

More than 70 players developed by Zhejiang FC are competing this year in the Chinese Super League, China League One, and China League Two. More than 100 players, coaches, referees, and support staff involved in competitions including the Zhejiang City Football League, or Wuyue Cup, also have backgrounds in the club's youth system.