After the trip to Zhidan, a new interpretation of the "Western Youth Football Training Pilot" emerges

Reported by Chen Yong As we bid farewell to Zhidan, with just over 20 days before 2026, on the train, Liu Xiaoxin, the president of our newspaper who has been leading the team’s coverage, expressed his deep emotions: “This year, we traveled to many places such as Xi’an, Qidong, Nansha, Hengyang, Zhangjiakou, Guizhou, Dingnan, and Zhidan. Some were for competitions, others were visits, but ultimately, it was a group of people passionate about football seeking out another group of football enthusiasts. This sentiment was especially strong in Zhidan.”

The "Football" newspaper’s Zhidan trip meticulously documented every football figure they met: Ding Changbao, who began writing books 22 years ago but whose true passion was football; Wang Maomao, who in a 2014 photo in Germany stood close to the General Secretary and later traveled through Xinxiang in Henan, Jiangyin in Jiangsu, Mianyang in Sichuan, and after graduating from Chongqing Normal University, returned home to teach; and many more young football players, such as Li Jingyao from the township primary school, an 11-year-old captain and defender who sat upright and alert during the interview, and Li Xiangyu from Hongxing Primary School, who demonstrated scoring by hitting the crossbar four times in a row, each time the ball going just under the bar into the net. After the interview, she still couldn’t put down the ball and took a few more shots at goal.

Narrow county streets and football fields everywhere, elderly coaches with white hair and young children, disciplined primary and middle school football teams and kindergarten kids crowded around chasing the ball—everywhere you look, there is a passion for football.

At the moment of departure, this trip to Zhidan also gave our newspaper deeper understanding and insights into China’s "Western Region Integration of Sports and Education Football Youth Training System Pilot" for football.

▲Our newspaper president Liu Xiaoxin interacts with football youth from Zhidan’s special training class

There are 16 key national football development cities (referred to as key football cities) and 8 pilot sites for the integration of sports and education football youth training systems in the western region (referred to as western youth training pilots). These represent two major pillars of regional football development in China. The former started in early 2022 and currently includes 16 cities; the latter began at the end of 2023, covering 8 cities. Yanbian and Meizhou are included in both systems, totaling 22 cities.

What distinguishes key football cities from western youth training pilots? First, in terms of geography, the former selects large cities with higher levels of football development; all top ten GDP cities are included. Additionally, Qingdao and Dalian are football cities, Xi’an is the northwest regional center, Changchun has a well-rounded football development, and smaller cities with rich football history like Yanbian and Meizhou are also included. Western youth training pilots, however, focus on western cities that have some football foundation.

Second, regarding function, the key football city system has a long history and is the core driver of China’s football development. It focuses on youth football, especially youth training systems, undertaking nearly all functions such as system building and talent cultivation, with high demands and heavy responsibilities. The western youth training pilots, as indicated by the word “pilot,” are not yet fully mature systems. Their focus is on youth training, but considering economic development and football infrastructure, their core role is to explore football development in the western region.

Zhidan County is the only county-level unit among the western youth training pilots. In previous evaluations, Zhidan ranked last, causing some anxiety in Yan’an and Zhidan. However, this is unnecessary. Quantitative indicators guide progress, but every effort is the true achievement and deserves respect. On one hand, as a county-level city, Zhidan naturally faces disadvantages in certain metrics; on the other hand, being a western youth training pilot means that comparison of indicators is less meaningful. More important is focusing on building its own football system, such as Zhidan’s meticulous development of kindergarten football and active exploration of promotion pathways. This already marks a significant breakthrough for county-level football development. The soon-to-be-completed Zhidan Football Youth Training Center will also play a leading role at the county level, similar to Dingnan’s national football training center, Wuhua’s Hengpi Football Town, and Longjing Hailanjiang Football Culture Town.

▲The under-construction Zhidan Football Youth Training Center

This trip to Zhidan, along with previous visits to Guizhou and Dingnan, attempts to offer a new interpretation of the western region’s integration of sports and education football youth training system pilots. It can be divided into five aspects: “Western Region,” “Integration of Sports and Education,” “Football Youth Training,” “System Construction,” and “Pilot.”

(1) Allow children playing football in the western region to change their lives and destinies. Parents of football-playing youth in big cities often have multiple options, but there are fewer children playing football in the western region. Providing them with better football training and cultural education, and building better pathways for further education, can naturally transform their lives and futures. This is the true meaning of the “Western Region.”

(2) The focus is on youth training, but popularization is even more important. For key football cities, youth training is naturally the core indicator, but for western youth training pilots, popularization and smoother integration of sports and education should be the main direction. Then, based on this foundation, youth training systems can be developed according to capacity. This is the proper meaning of “Integration of Sports and Education” and “Football Youth Training.”

(3) Build a football home for those passionate about the sport. This should be the core purpose of the western youth training pilots. Not every county can replicate Dingnan’s dual professional team model, but there must be more comprehensive football development policies, more football fields, and more systematic competitions. This is the essence of “System Construction.”

(4) After the pilot phase, the construction of the western football system should become normalized. Key football development cities gather nearly half of the country’s professional clubs and over 50% of professional-level coaches. In fact, if cities like Jinan, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, and Shenyang are included, the proportion of national team players selected would be astonishing. However, the significance of western youth training pilots is entirely different from key football cities. It is not just about building 6 or 8 pilots, but more importantly, using these pilots as a foundation to promote football development systems across the entire western region. The function carried by the western youth training pilots goes beyond football itself; football serves as a vehicle to achieve coordinated development between east and west, policy synergy, and mechanism collaboration, thereby fostering cultural integration and prosperity. This is the true meaning of “Pilot.”