Opening match between Nankai Middle School and Chongqing No. 7 High School

Opening match between Nankai Middle School and Chongqing No. 7 High School (Photographed by Gao Ke)

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Recently, a ceremony was held in Shuangbei Sub-district, Shapingba District to launch the Jialing Football Pitch, where two football teams from Chongqing Nankai Middle School and Chongqing No. 7 High School held an “opening match”. The reporter from Chongqing Morning News learned that it is the only public football pitch in Shapingba District that meets FIFA certification standard and is built in the community. At the opening ceremony, the reporter saw many nearby spectators coming to watch and saying, “It’s great to have a pitch like this so close to home!”

Field Certificate of FIFA Quality obtained

The reporter learned that Jialing Football Pitch was originally a football field for the staff of Jialing Factory, which was incorporated into the Chongqing Yufu Group after the restructuring of Jialing Factory, and was abandoned and overgrown for a long time before the renovation. In 2019, thanks to the joint efforts of Shapingba Sports Bureau and Shuangbei Sub-district, Yufu Group was coordinated to lease the field to Shapingba District for renovation and use.

The renovation of Jialing Football Pitch began in October last year. Today the pitch covers an area of 20,000 square meters and includes a standard 11-a-side football pitch, a 300-meter fitness trail, a badminton court, a cage children’s football pitch, half a basketball court and fitness paths and other ancillary facilities. On February 4 this year, the pitch successfully passed the FIFA turf quality test and was awarded the Field Certificate of FIFA Quality after a rigorous inspection by the FIFA-appointed LaboSport laboratory in France.

The football pitch is the only public football field in Shapingba District that has reached the FIFA certification standard, providing a first-class venue for youth football training and football events in Shapingba District, as well as a good place for fitness and leisure for the surrounding residents. Mr. Wang, who lives nearby, was delighted to see the pitch attached to his home, “I witnessed this field being built, and now it’s finally done, so I don’t have to go elsewhere to play football.”

Capacity to meet the needs of local youth football training

Du Xueyong, Director of Chongqing Football Sports Management Center, said on the ceremony that football training for the youth in Shapingba District was excellent and that the pitch, once opened, could meet the needs of local youth training, as well as the needs of some community football sports, making football activities in the community more enriching.

Concerning the completion and operation of Jialing Football Pitch, the person in charge of Shapingba District said, “The completion of Jialing Football Pitch will not only be a high standard training and competition venue for football in our district, but a good place for the public for fitness and exercise.”

How are community residents going to use the pitch? According to the people concerned, after Jialing Football Pitch is put into use, the operation and management will be strengthened to meet the work of youth football training and tournament activities in Shapingba District, while implementing free or low fees to make up for the operating costs and increase the effectiveness of the use. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)