Hebei, Pioneer in China's Football System Reform

Report by Chen Yong Despite the uneven path of professional football in Hebei, the province has repeatedly served as a trailblazer in China's football reform: In social football, Hebei actively explored five-a-side football development, not only supporting the national five-a-side team setup but also creating the "Hebei Five Super" city league with a home-and-away match system; In the "3+4" vocational-to-university贯通 system, Hebei took proactive steps beyond the initial two pilot projects, completing the贯通培养 between Zhangjiakou City Ice and Snow Sports School and Hebei North University in November 2024.

Regarding the construction of new-type football schools, in November 2024, the Ministry of Education approved Hebei Provincial Sports School as one of the first two national pilot units for new-type football school construction; In May 2025, the Ministry of Education designated Hebei Sport University (the superior management unit of Hebei Provincial Sports School) to lead the formulation of the "New-type Football School Construction Standards" based on Hebei's pilot experience; In July 2025, a seminar on new-type football school construction standards was held at Hebei Sport University, discussing the "National New-type Football School Construction Standards" and "New-type Football School Assessment Indicators and Scoring细则,"全面推进 the construction work; In October 2025, the Ministry of Education回复 agreed that Hebei could further strengthen new-type football school construction based on these standards and推广 them nationwide.

From late April to early May, the first "New-type Football School Cup" National Football Invitational Tournament and New-type Football School Construction Seminar were held in Shijiazhuang. This event and seminar will further demonstrate Hebei's role as a pioneer in China's football reform and振兴 development.

This seminar focused on new-type football school construction and youth football后备人才培养, innovatively adopting a模式 that集中举行 training camp, invitational tournament, and seminar, integrating elite selection, competitive matches, and academic discussion. The event was hosted by Hebei Sport University, with Hebei Provincial Sports局大球运动中心 and "Football" newspaper参与 organizing the elite training camp and national invitational tournament respectively.

The event consisted of three stages: The first stage was April 25-26, the training camp and selection phase. During this stage, outstanding youth football players from across the province received on-site guidance from experts like Shen Xiangfu and others,同时 undergoing selection. At this level, it essentially pertains to青训中心 construction standards.

After the first stage concluded, selected players formed two teams to participate in the first "New-type Football School Cup" National Football Invitational Tournament. The tournament took place from April 30 to May 4 at Hebei Sport University Xuefu Road Campus. Participating teams included four high-level national teams for the 15/16 age group and two elite training camp teams. The competition format was 8-a-side.

The final stage was the New-type Football School Construction Seminar starting on May 6. Relevant national and provincial体育教育 departments, representatives of new-type football schools, and football experts gathered to共同探讨 the construction and future development of new-type football schools, covering topics such as talent selection,培养体系, and related体系建设.

From late April to early May, over ten days, the training camp + invitational tournament + seminar were tightly linked. From青训中心 construction to new-type football school construction, Hebei football充分利用 this "May Day" holiday to conduct a comprehensive review of future体系建设.

This grand event in Hebei Province centered on new-type football school construction,实际上也是对 the province's football development体系的一次全面梳理.

Regarding the five-level青训中心 construction, the training camp system from April 25-26 is one of the important青训中心 construction standards. The five-level青训中心 focuses on elite youth training, but beyond it, building a more完善支撑体系和保障体系 is the role and significance of new-type football schools.

Hebei Sports School is the national construction standard for new-type football schools, as详细介绍 earlier. Additionally, Zhangjiakou City Ice and Snow Sports School is also a construction典范. The school was established leveraging the冬奥会, but under new circumstances, it actively pursued改革. On November 11, 2024, Zhangjiakou City Ice and Snow Sports School's "3+4" vocational-to-university贯通培养 project officially received approval from Hebei Provincial教育厅, with the football program achieving贯通培养 with Hebei North University, reflecting Zhangjiakou football's突破 spirit. The school has already formed three梯队: 09/10, 11/12, and 13/14. The 13/14梯队 won the Hebei Provincial Youth Football锦标赛 U12组冠军 in 2025.

The reforms of Zhangjiakou City football and Ice and Snow Sports School基本符合 new-type football school construction standards: They changed the traditional sports school model that emphasized training over culture,坚持 "one team, one teacher配师资, teachers follow the team to avoid耽误学习" and "equal emphasis on专业教学 and一线实践,"注重思想政治教育,推行军事化管理. Students do morning exercises daily, sing the national anthem, maintain strict discipline, and exhibit high morale.

The reforms of Zhangjiakou City Sports School基本符合 current five-level青训中心 construction standards: Zhangjiakou City Sports School comprehensively shifted from单纯训练职能 to管理职能, through场馆统筹,人才孵化,等级评定等措施,全面引导校园足球,青训, and social football development. Future construction of a city-wide training camp体系 would完全符合青训中心建设标准. Zhangjiakou City Sports School and Zhangjiakou City Football Association form a "基础+赛事"职能分工, while with Zhangjiakou City Ice and Snow Sports School, they constitute a "普及+提升"发展格局.

实际上, the积极探索 of Zhangjiakou City Sports School and Zhangjiakou City football and Ice and Snow Sports School holds示范意义 nationwide. One important借鉴意义 is: Five-level青训中心建设和 new-type football school construction are not about推倒重来 or平地起高楼, but rather改制和升级老旧体校和中职院校 to适应中国足球的全新形势. From the national perspective,梳理体制机制 is重于基础设施建设.

Feature | Behind the "3+4" That超越政策, Lies Zhangjiakou's Firm Football Dream

At the 2005 10th National Games, the reporter once interviewed the Hebei football team. At that time, Hebei football was still a荒漠. After years of professional football development, Hebei not only lacked professional teams but even needed to借调 personnel from other provinces to form a team for the National Games. During that interview, what impressed the reporter most was that all Hebei football people expressed, without exception, how wonderful it would be if Hebei had a完善的足球体系 and a strong professional football club!

Over the subsequent 20+ years, Hebei football experienced起伏. First, the rise of石家庄永昌足球俱乐部, followed by华夏幸福足球俱乐部's rise. Especially华夏幸福 not only joined the金元足球浪潮 but also全力发力 in青训. Most典型的是, after华夏幸福足球俱乐部退出 in early 2023, by late 2024, essentially two years later, the廊坊荣耀之城U17队, based on河北华夏幸福2008年龄段梯队, achieved亚军 in the U17联赛.

Hebei football once had "一省双超," but now, only石家庄功夫独力支撑河北职业足球.

Reflecting on Hebei football's development, it is不难发现 that Hebei football's past激情 relied on企业家热情, but it未能实现体系化发展. Without基础支撑, especially系统性规划, all上层建筑 were空中楼阁.

Current Hebei football is walking more扎实 in体系建设: In青训中心建设层面, Hebei football has been steadily推进; In new-type football school construction and overall系统推进方面, Hebei Province更是走在全国前面. Whether regarding new-type football schools or the "3+4" vocational-to-university贯通体系, Hebei holds示范意义 nationwide; In social football层面,面对城市联赛的汹涌浪潮, Hebei Province主打五人制联赛,独辟蹊径, also achieving不错的效果.当然, from长远发展来看, Hebei Province still needs to establish通俗的城市联赛体系 to further激发基层热情和潜力.