Hebei county gets kicks out of soccer education

One of the overarching goals in the county of Quzhou in Hebei province is for the kids to grow up passionate about soccer.

In the county of 480,000 people, by 2025, 95 percent of kids play soccer, and there will be over 100 schools that specialize in soccer education. Since 2016, more than 50 million yuan ($6.9 million) has been invested in the sport.

In short, Quzhou has gone soccer mad.

Such passion for the beautiful game can be seen on the 40-plus soccer pitches around the county on any day of the week, with teams of children kitted out in sports gear going head-to-head in matches or running drills in training for match day.

"My team has a squad of 24 players and all of them are present today," Zi Yan, a pupil and soccer player, tells her coach at school on the morning of Oct 24 before practice.

The 12-year-old sixth-grade student from Qianhedong Primary School in Quzhou has played soccer since 2017 after a coach at the school picked her for the sport.

In 2016, Quzhou was chosen as an experimental county for developing soccer by the Ministry of Education.

Since then, a raft of soccer programs, activities and competitions have kicked off in the county, involving children from kindergarten to secondary school. More than 10,000 kids have been involved in soccer activities in Quzhou this year alone.

"Every class has players and every school holds soccer competitions," said Jing Wanxiang, head of the county's education and sports department. The county has 160 primary and secondary schools, he added.

In Yan's class, six students have been selected to play on the school's soccer teams — three boys and three girls.

The two teams train two hours each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, according to Yan's coach Hou Lingling.

"We practice basic skills like scoring goals and passing the ball," Yan said. The joy of sports has fed back into her energy in the classroom.

"At first my strength couldn't keep up and I couldn't control the ball with my feet.

"But I didn't give up because I like playing and the feeling of improving my skills was very satisfying," she said.

"I have learned a lot and grown a lot from the games."

Yan's mother, Li Xiaoli, said she had seen how playing soccer had made her daughter more active in the classroom.

"I can see my daughter's abilities have been greatly improved, including her physical strength, endurance, patience and the ability to bear stress," she said.

Head of the county's education and sports department, Jing said, "This is what we want to yield by promoting the sport among students."

As of last year, 24 schools in the county had specialized education in soccer, including five kindergartens, according to Jing.

Compared with ordinary schools, such schools are equipped with fields, all-inclusive soccer equipment and top coaches, he said.

Soccer activities and competitions are a regular occurrence in these schools, he added.

Apart from nurturing players like Yan, Quzhou also provides soccer classes for all students with the aim of teaching them basic soccer skills.

The country has invested in building more than 40 standard soccer pitches and hired over 40 professional soccer coaches since 2016, according to Jing.

"We will continue to vigorously develop soccer, so that children can enjoy sports, and thus strengthen their bodies and temper their will," Jing said.

"Each of our schools will be equipped with a pitch by the end of 2025."