The development status of social football: 35,000 11-a-side courts, more than 500,000 grassroots players

On January 9, Beijing time, the second meeting of the 12th Congress of the Chinese Football Association was held in Beijing, and Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association, made a report on the work of the Chinese Football Association in 2024 at the meeting, which disclosed the progress made in social football work in the past year.

【Infrastructure】

Increase the construction of small football fields around the masses. At present, there are 148,700 football fields in the country, including 35,000 11-a-side football fields; 47,100 seven-a-side football fields; 66,500 futsal fields.

【Organizational Construction of Football Association】

There are 2,519 football associations of all levels and types registered with the civil affairs department in accordance with the law, an increase of 280 compared with 2022. At present, according to the "Football China" information platform of the Chinese Football Association, a total of 321 prefecture-level football associations have been established across the country, with a coverage rate of over 95%.

【Construction of Social Football Competition System】

The China Football Development Foundation has hosted county-level football events for four consecutive years, covering 29 provinces, with 870 districts and counties participating, with 180,000 people participating throughout the year. In 2024, there will be 2,298 amateur tournaments registered on the Football China Information Platform, a year-on-year increase of 94%; The number of registered amateur teams increased by 15,914 compared to 2023, and the number of registered amateur teams nationwide reached 30,976, an increase of 106% year-on-year.

[Football population continues to grow]

Actively support the education department to hold campus football events, and widely carry out grassroots football activities such as the AFC's "Grassroots Football Day", "National Fitness Day", "National Football Challenge", "I Love Football" and "County Football". Strive for the support of international resources and provide 320,000 soccer balls free of charge to the whole country. Formulate the "Measures for the Evaluation of Amateur Football Ratings" and the "Measures for the Management of Social Football Events". The football population continues to grow, with the number of registered grassroots players in 2024 increasing by 308,000 compared to 2023, bringing the total to more than 500,000.