Qingdao's first ever community-level soccer tournament opens in Licang on Oct 8. (PHOTO / PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, has for years been running a campaign to engage locals in soccer to enrich their spiritual and physical well-being and strengthen social cohesion in the city.

The initiative can also help Qingdao meet its goal of becoming an open, modern, vibrant and fashionable international metropolis, local officials said.

In Licang district, a traditional industrial hub of Qingdao, a number of facilities have been constructed over the years to help develop soccer.

Aiming to make the sport a regular part of people's lives, the district government has been building soccer fields since 2015. By the end of last year, it finished the construction of 31 competition and training venues.

With the COVID-19 outbreak under control in China, soccer competitions in residential communities are running again in the district.

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At 8 pm on June 30, matches were held at a soccer training center of Liujiaxiahe community. The center was brightly lit, with crowds cheering for their favorite players.

Each Tuesday, all five soccer fields in the training center are open to the public for free.

Fu Dayu, an official of the community, is both the leader of Liujiaxiahe's soccer team and its eldest player.

The 50-year-old has been playing soccer for 21 years and has achieved plenty during that time. He founded Qingdao's first farmers' soccer team to participate in the city league, he used to be the best amateur goalkeeper of Licang, he launched the community league of Licang and has hired soccer coaches to give lessons to children in various communities.

On the development of community soccer, Fu said its future lies in children. Soccer education at the elementary stage is of great importance.

Soccer also features unity and a fighting spirit, which is not only beneficial to physical health, but can promote harmony between residents and communities, the experienced player added.

Liujiaxiahe's soccer team was set up in 1999 and has become one of the most stable and united community teams in Qingdao.

It has cultivated several high-quality players for local colleges and professional teams, and has won silver medals at games organized by the Qingdao Labor Union for three consecutive years. Liujiaxiahe's soccer team has set an example for other communities in Licang district.

In Jiushui subdistrict alone, where Liujiaxiahe community is located, a total of 11 communities have formed their own teams. More than 1,000 residents regularly play. The strong soccer atmosphere has also boosted the fortunes of the local nighttime economy.

In addition to community soccer, Licang has developed campus soccer in recent years.

At the opening match of the 2018 Russia World Cup, Licang student Zhang Han entered the field holding hands with a Russian player on behalf of all Chinese trainees.

Since 2013, schools in the district signed a cooperation agreement with Qingdao Jonoon－a professional soccer club in Qingdao－inviting more than 100 coaches from the club to regularly teach and train students at schools.

These schools have set up soccer courses for all students and offer at least one lesson a week. In 2015, some kindergartens in Licang also started to offer soccer education.

In 2017, the district partnered with soccer companies to provide full-time professional coaches to schools. It divided the schools into three levels based on the size of fields, educational resources and other infrastructure facilities, and made different goals and development plans for each level.

These efforts have allowed Licang to cultivate many talented youth soccer players. The district has provided 20 students with talent in soccer to the Qingdao No 2,No 1 and No 66 middle schools in the past two years. Two students were selected by the Ministry of Education to join soccer training courses in Europe in 2017.

Through the tournament, we want to organize a group of residential communities that highlight the development of sports in Qingdao, and also help the city's community soccer become more popular.

Tian Weiguo, director of the Qingdao soccer management center

Qingdao's first soccer tournament at the community level

The competition started on Oct 8 and will end on Nov 15. Nearly 600 amateur players from 24 teams organized by residential communities in Qingdao will compete for the champion team title after the group stage and elimination rounds.

Some local professional players such as Zhao Shutian and Chen Gang－both former members of the Chinese national football team－attended the tournament's opening ceremony.

The competition is organized by the city's sports bureau and sponsored by the Qingdao soccer management center. It is also supported by the Licang district education and sports bureau, the Qingdao soccer association, and a local sports company founded by former Chinese national soccer team member Qu Bo.

It aims to promote a concept of "making sports a family tradition" and boost the prosperity of sports culture in urban communities, organizers said.

"Through the tournament, we want to organize a group of residential communities that highlight the development of sports in Qingdao, and also help the city's community soccer become more popular," said Tian Weiguo, director of the Qingdao soccer management center.

As a city with one of the largest numbers of professional soccer teams and players in China, Qingdao has invested huge resources to promote the development of soccer at the community level.

Since 2015, the city has invested 30 million yuan (US$4.46 million) annually in building soccer facilities for various communities.

By the end of this year, it is scheduled to have set up about 657 soccer fields for the public, local officials said.

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