President Xi visits Man City football club

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron stands with President Xi Jinping during a visit to the City Football Academy in Manchester, Britain Oct 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

A highlight of the visit was the inclusion into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame of former Manchester City player Sun Jihai, a Chinese player who played 130 times for Manchester City between 2002-2008, said the website.

Sun was the first Chinese player to score in the Premier League and was last month named as the club's ambassador to China.

In 2011, Xi outlined his three wishes to China's football -- to qualify for another World Cup, to host a World Cup and to win a World Cup championship.

While China has yet to achieve those goals, a profound reform in this field has been carried out in the country.