Campus football: China needs top-level designs

Campus football, or school football, has been persistently mentioned in China since the second half of last year when China proposed the reform plan to reestablish sports, football particularly. Education departments, sports departments, schools and universities or even a range of enterprises have showed unprecedented interests in campaigns to promote campus football in various means.

But China needs top-level designs to make theirs efforts count when attempting to boost campus football presence, argued by Nobel Blake and Kevin England who would play a part in Sino-UK School Football Project in Shanghai, China. The duo, a former head coach of U19 England and a training consultant of England’s Football Association respectively, agreed that the proper way to implement campus football development plans locally is to follow the country’s conceptual designs and overall schemes.

As teachers and pitches are vital important for promoting campus football, a government-oriented outline should be worked out as soon as possible in order to provide guidance for local implementations.

It appears that China has realized the urgency of improving football teachers in schools since Ministry of Education alongside General Administration of Sport and Chinese Football Association have announced plans to train 5,400 key football teachers in primary and secondary schools. But more importantly, the hosts needs to figure out how to train those selected football teachers and how to make them play their roles in schools when the trainings end.

In addition, emerging football-related campaigns have laid a good foundation for campus football to rise with more parents and juniors showing increasing interests in the sport. With boosts from the likes of Michael Owen, Luis Figo, Jose Guti or Fernando Morientes, campus football heat in different Chinese cities is weighting up. The question, however, is which football theory will suit the sport better in China? And would there be an integrated theory customized in China?

Moreover, lacking proper pitches is also challenging the campus football developmental plan in China. Statistically it is relatively easy for the rising economic giants to establish a number of new pitches and stadiums in a short term. But what are more urgently needed are government-sponsored football institutions and academies for junior players. These institutions along with football teachers who have been furthered with advanced football education would seriously drive the promotion of campus football in China.