Soccer fields built into fitness plan

China on Thursday announced it will include the construction of soccer fields in its overall plans for urbanization and rural development in a drive to accelerate efforts to develop the sport. Nongovernmental sectors will be encouraged to build small soccer fields compliant with various standards in line with local conditions, according to the National Fitness Program for 2016-2020 released by the State Council, China's cabinet, on Thursday. More people, including the physically disabled as well as the middle-aged and elderly, should be encouraged to participate in a variety of soccer activities, the program said, noting that the population that plays soccer should be expanded. By 2020, 700 million people will take part in physical exercises at least once a week, including 435 million who exercise regularly, the program said, noting that the total consumption of sports activities in 2020 will reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($228 billion). "A lack of soccer fields is one of the practical problems facing the development of the sport in China," Ma Dexing, deputy editor of Changsha-based magazine Titan Sports, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Promoting soccer in urban communities may contribute to social harmony by increasing interpersonal contact within neighborhoods, said Ma. "More participation in sports like soccer will also contribute to the future development of the sports industry," he added. By the end of 2013, China had around 10,000 soccer fields in "relatively good condition," far fewer than those in major soccer-playing nations, said an announcement released by the National Development and Reform Commission in May. In early May, the State General Administration of Sports released the five-year plan for China's sports development, which said the total number of soccer fields across the country will reach 70,000 by the end of 2020. The inclusion of soccer development plans in the national fitness program shows that China is gradually changing its past utilitarian goal for the sport's growth, which overemphasized competition results, Liu Xiaoxin, chief editor of Guangzhou-based newspaper Soccer News, told the Global Times on Thursday. "Compared with the program for the last five years, we have changed our perspective on sports. Now we believe sports should be integrated with education, culture, tourism and the medical industry," Liu Guoyong, an official of the State General Administration of Sports, was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying on Thursday. School soccer will be promoted extensively, the plan noted. The plan added that a system connecting regular soccer competitions in primary schools, secondary schools and universities should be improved soon. According to the Mid- and Long-Term Development Plan of Chinese Soccer Development released in April, by 2020, there will be 20,000 schools specializing in soccer in China, while over 30 million primary and high school students will regularly play soccer.