A total of 200 Chinese universities are expected to have high-calibre varsity football teams, a news conference held by the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.
Wang Dengfeng, head of the ministry’s Department of Physical, Health and Arts Education said each of the 200 universities is required to have a male and a female team.
“The ministry will further boost its pilot programme in selected counties and districts, where more than 60 per cent of primary and middle schools will offer quality football education,’’ Wang said.
Report says the programme now involves 102 counties and districts.
According to previous figures by the ministry, at the end of 2017, some 20,218 primary and middle schools across the country had started offering football education to spearhead campus football development.
In 2015, the ministry together with five other departments issued a guideline to encourage football development.
“By 2020, some 20,000 schools should have courses on football, and the number should reach 50,000 by 2025,’’ the guideline said. (Xinhua/NAN)