| Abstract: | Football development in China has been going through the process of reform alongside the gradually relaxed state control and rapid growth of its economy. As a direct result, the top level football has been commercialized and professionalized from the state amateur model with a market approach, the fully funded state academies are dissolved. Due to lack of the community-based club football culture, grassroots football is very difficult to develop without the government involvement. This article looks at two different development cases at the grassroots level through the researcher’s own work experience with the Asian Football Confederation in two Chinese cities; the report is not only to shed some light on particular local football development programmes, but also to provide an opportunity for discussion of the game’s sustainable development models under China’s market economy. |
