Shall abandoned one-child policy boost Chinese youth sports market

China is set to abandon one-child policy for the first time after more than 3 decades in order to response to an aging population, allowing couples to have two children.

According to Chinese demographer Huang Wenzheng, a biostatistics expert at Johns Hopkins University, the relaxed family planning policy would possibly result in an increase of 3 million to 8 million babies in the country each year once it is implemented. The efforts are not only seen as markedly favorable signal for companies which provide baby products but also a boon for the rising youth sports market in the country.

With the increasing national interest in soccer, more and more people begin to recognize the important role that youth training plays in the course to develop the sport. As well as the youth soccer market, we’ve seen leading sportswear provider Adidas’ campus soccer project in the country alongside those youth training deals signed between Chinese and European soccer clubs.

More importantly, those to-be-built soccer schools, which were called for by Chinese President Xi Jinping, need the participation of Chinese kids in the coming years. And potential significant increased number of juniors, if so, would give a boost to the development of the rising youth soccer industry in China. And that partly explains why former superstars like Luis Figo and Ronaldo are all seeking for presences in China by setting up soccer schools.

Besides soccer, other sports like basketball, tennis and even golf and ice-hockey will see increasing number of training camps or schools in China to meet the demands of millions of families. Amid the growth of middle class in the country, Chinese parents are now more willing to send their children to interest-oriented sports classes.

In addition to youth trainings, sports events among Chinese juniors or students are also expected to thrive under the background of Chinese unprecedented sports reform. For sports equipment providers, this is a glorious opportunity to expand exposure and grow brand influence.

However, we can hardly find a bunch of sports products specialized for juniors, leaving a gap between the offers from the brands and what the “young” users need when they involve in sports. Therefore, there is huge space for those behaved international brands like Nike or Adidas and also domestic sports equipment providers to take advantage of the rising market driven by the country’s sports development ambition and as well as the awaited baby boom.