Original title: Strengthening the “capillaries” of Chinese football – the heads of the football associations in many places talk about the development of county football in the central and western regions
Xinhua News Agency, Kunming, April 8
Xinhua News Agency reporters Xiao Shiyao and Yue Ranran
“The weakest link in the development of national football lies in the counties.”
“The development of county football needs competitions most.”
On the 8th, a symposium on the development of county-level football in the central and western regions was held in Kunming. Relevant officials from 17 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Football Association and many county-level football associations in the central and western regions jointly called for the use of live events to leverage Promote the construction of grassroots football associations and strengthen the “capillaries” that are crucial to the development of Chinese football.
The foundation of county football development is insufficient
“The number of people who regularly participate in football in the whole society exceeds 50 million”, this is the clear goal set out in the “Medium and Long-term Development Plan for Chinese Football (2016-2050)”. Why can’t China’s football population increase? Participants generally believed that, to a large extent, football is not popular in the vast counties, especially in the central and western regions, and the construction of grassroots football associations has long lagged behind.
“All kinds of football games are held in the province, but there are very few participating teams at the county level.” Sun Yan, chairman of the Anhui Football Association, lamented.
“Comparatively speaking, the grassroots football associations have incomplete institutional construction, insufficient personnel and often hold multiple positions, and their business capabilities are generally weak.” Li Xutian, secretary-general of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Football Association, said.
“Our football activities have not really been carried out at the grassroots level, so Chinese football has not formed its own culture. The backwardness of Chinese football lies in the lack of cultural foundation of Chinese football. No one can tell what characteristics our football has.” Chinese Football Association Executive Committee, Wu Gang, vice chairman of the Inner Mongolia Football Association, said.
Regarding the reasons why county football is difficult to develop, Yang Yanbin, head of the Zigui County Football Association in Hubei, believes: “First, there is insufficient funds, and local financial pressure is high, so there is no money to invest in football. Second, the degree of attention is not enough, and the attention paid to football is not high. The third is venue restrictions. , Most of the venues are in schools, and the use is more restricted. Fourth, it is difficult to attract professional football talents.”
“There are few high-level competitions held at the grassroots level, and it is difficult to stimulate the enthusiasm of young people for football, and the attention of enterprises is not high.” Zou Jian, chairman of the Guangxi Beiliu City Football Association, said.
When the competition comes, the grassroots associations will live
The participating representatives generally believed that holding events is an important starting point to promote the development of county football.
Under the guidance of the Group Department of the State Sports General Administration and the Chinese Football Association, the 2022 “National Fitness and Healthy China” series of county-level rural football activities in the central and western regions hosted by the China Football Development Foundation will be held from October 2022 to February 2023. Provided guidance funds and held more than 16,000 games in 394 counties in the Midwest, with nearly 100,000 direct participants.
The holding of a series of activities has brought changes to county football in the central and western regions. Guo Xueping, head of the Football Association of Luoning County, Henan Province, said: “Luoning is a mountainous county with many left-behind children. Helping left-behind children has always been a difficult problem in the county. Through football matches, children’s after-school life has been enriched. When we get to the stadium, it can also reassure parents.”
“Thanks to the launch of this event, our county team participated in a home and away game in an official capacity for the first time in history, which made the players feel like stars, and (football games) became a must-talk topic after dinner.” Jiangxi Anfu County Football Association Chairman Peng Song said.
Wang Xianmin, executive vice chairman of the Jiangxi Football Association, introduced that in the past, many football activities in counties were not standardized. With the help of this series of activities, the Jiangxi Provincial Football Association sent 12 working groups to monitor the referees and game supervision of all participating counties before and during the game. Unified training to help counties and districts develop their own competition capabilities.
“The most important thing is to establish a county-level football organization through the guidance of the game. Everyone has tasted the sweetness of hosting the game, and many counties have asked for the establishment of a football association, which has made this way smooth.” Sun Yan said.
“This is the first time we have extended our management tentacles to the county level, making our football management work more three-dimensional. Training through competitions has created a working system and a united working situation for the provincial Football Association. This is the biggest Harvest.” said Guo Peidong, secretary-general of the Shanxi Football Association.
“The Bingtuan Football Association has been established for a relatively short time. This activity has promoted the organization construction, management and social service capabilities of the Bingtuan Football Association and the division football associations, and improved the ability of the Football Association to participate in national fitness services.” Li Xutian said.
Breaking the topic of county football development
In the process of organizing the event, the problems of county football were exposed more thoroughly. “The football population is too small, there are few players, there are few coaches, and there are fewer high-level coaches. There are few sports venues, poor conditions, and a large gap between urban and rural venues.” Said Jia Leishi, vice chairman of the Guangxi Football Association.
“The preliminary planning is not detailed enough, and the consideration of the pre-plan budget is not comprehensive enough. The implementation of activities in the county area is not rigorous, there is no dedicated person in charge, and there is a lack of experience in organizing football matches.” He Lei, head of the Qinghai Football Association, said.
A number of participants also said that China is such a big country that different seasons are suitable for hosting the competition. If the time is fixed, it will be too restricted by the weather and the venue, which will affect the enthusiasm for organizing and participating in the competition.
Regarding the future development of county football, Jia Leishi suggested that all participating teams should be encouraged to form clubs. “Don’t let the team disband when there is no game, let them form a club. If there are more clubs and there is a need for games, they will organize their own games, which can further enhance the vitality of grassroots social football.”
Wang Xianmin believes that the training of county associations should not be limited to coaches and referees, and the management, market development, publicity, and training of grassroots football associations should be included with the help of competitions. “Only by cultivating these people well will the county football in the future have the most basic organizational guarantee.”
Xu Ming, executive member of the Chinese Football Association and chairman of the Xinjiang Football Association, said that the development of county football must strengthen the volunteer team. “It should be encouraged to welcome football-loving people from all walks of life to join the football volunteer team.”
“Without a strong local association, there would be no strong Chinese Football Association, nor would there be a strong Chinese football. If we want to be strong, we must let the vast county football develop.” Xu Ming appealed.