Summary:

By the end of 2016, 13,381 primary and secondary schools were qualified and designated as “campus football schools”. In addition to this, China nominated 69 national pilot counties and districts as well as four national pilot reform areas for youth campus football, including  Inner Mongolia, Qingdao of Shandong Province, Xiamen of Fujian Province and Yanbian of Jilin Province. In 2017, China aims to complete the construction of 20,000 campus football schools ahead of schedule and to reach 50,000 in total by 2025.

In 2017, China aims to complete the construction of 20,000 campus football schools ahead of the schedule and to reach 50,000 in total by 2025. National-level special training for youth school football teachers and principals of newly-established campus football schools will also be conducted. 6 to 8 campus football coach training bases will be developed by qualified HEIs, inviting domestic and foreign professional football training lecturers and coaches, to train 3,000 campus football coaches in 2017, aiming for each campus football school (50,000 in 2025) to have one or two teachers and coaches with certificates at Grade D or above.

Recently, the Ministry of Education also issued guidance for the above-mentioned national pilot reform areas and pilot counties / districts of youth campus football, with five key tasks and four implementation measures as follows,

  1. Five Tasks:
  • To include campus football development in the relevant local development plan and annual work plan, and to set up leading groups supervising campus football development including directors from departments of education, sports and football associations
  • To expand the coverage of campus football and to encourages students of all ages to participate in football. Campus football schools shall make up 60% of the total number of local schools in 4 pilot areas
  • To arrange at least one football class in the campus football schools in a week
  • To improve the campus football competition system, form a stable and standardized format, with a 4-level youth campus football league mechanism from primary schools, secondary schools, high schools and HEIs respectively
  • To actively develop training mechanisms for youth campus football, organising local campus football summer and winter camps and training camps
  1. Four Measures
  • Enhancing sports faculty capacity building, especially encouraging various forms of introducing foreign teachers, strengthening international exchange of campus football teachers, and raising the level of teaching and training of local campus football teachers
  • Developing football pitches and facilities (infrastructure)
  • Increasing campus football funding
  • Strengthening risk prevention consciousness

Sources:

1. Guidance for National Pilot Areas, Counties and Districts of Youth Campus Football (《关于加强全国青少年校园足球改革试验区、试点县（区）工作的指导意见》) in Chinese: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A17/moe_938/s3276/201703/t20170309_298729.html

2. Related guidance documents: http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_xwfb/xw_fbh/moe_2069/xwfbh_2017n/xwfb_170221/170221_sfcl

3. Briefings by the MoE:  https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NTA1NjE3NQ==&mid=2649872508&idx=1&sn=5901a7f050cf732f25ed9429039de647