Football vocational education is set to accelerate and break through in 2026! With passion and persistence, connections can be made everywhere!

Chief reporter Chen Yong reports In the integration of sports and education and the articulation system, the "631" primary-secondary-high school articulation and the "3+4" secondary vocational-undergraduate articulation have become two major buzzwords in football development nationwide. Corresponding system construction is being highly valued and vigorously promoted by local governments. However, in reality, the "3+2" (secondary vocational-higher vocational/higher vocational-undergraduate) football vocational education system and its articulation path have been accelerating in construction speed over the past three years, with continuous breakthroughs in construction models.

In the summer of 2024, the Football Vocational College of Qingdao Preschool Education College was still named the School of Physical Education. This higher vocational institution seemed to have little connection with football development. At that time, a seminar on football development in vocational colleges, hosted by the Qingdao Preschool Education College and organized by the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education, was held in Qingdao.

Before this meeting, relevant work had already been underway for half a year. During the meeting, the Department of Vocational and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education further confirmed the major direction of football vocational education: establishing football majors, setting up football vocational colleges, and serving as a foundation and talent cultivation mechanism for Chinese football development. The decision to ultimately choose Qingdao Preschool Education College for the pilot demonstration involved many stories. These stories precisely reflect the top-down reform strategy of football vocational education, which perfectly combined with the bottom-up proactive initiative of Qingdao Preschool Education College.

Subsequently, the higher vocational major "Football Sports and Management" and the secondary vocational major "Football Sports" entered the demonstration and promotion stage. Qingdao Preschool Education College undertook related research and standard development. Half a year later, in mid-December 2024, the two majors were included in the "Vocational Education Professional Catalog" and were scheduled to begin enrollment in 2025. More than 10 higher vocational colleges were among the first to set up the Football Sports and Management major.

In the spring and summer of 2025, football vocational education continued to advance: First, the construction of football vocational colleges. In May, the Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Sport of China approved Qingdao Preschool Education College as a pilot construction unit for the National Football Vocational College. In August, before the first batch of new students in the football sports major at Qingdao Preschool Education College had even enrolled, a research symposium on the pilot construction of the National Football Vocational College was held in Qingdao. This was the second consecutive year that the Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Sport of China convened a special football vocational education meeting in Qingdao. The meeting pointed out the need to build a football talent cultivation system that aligns with the laws of vocational education, smooth the articulation channels for football talent, and strengthen the integration of sports and education to improve talent cultivation quality. The meeting also put forward specific requirements for the construction of football vocational colleges.

One month later, the first batch of higher vocational football sports major freshmen enrolled at Qingdao Preschool Education College, along with institutions such as Fujian Sports Vocational and Technical College, Wuhan City Vocational College, Guangzhou Sports Vocational and Technical College, Sichuan Sports Vocational College, and Xinjiang Sports Vocational and Technical College.

On July 28-29, 2026, the research symposium on the pilot construction of the National Football Vocational College was held again at Qingdao Preschool Education College. At this point, football vocational education had already entered the right track. The next stage was to further refine the construction model and break down relevant barriers. It is gratifying that breakthroughs are evident, mainly in three areas: enrollment policy breakthroughs, articulation system breakthroughs, and talent cultivation model breakthroughs.

In 2025, the first batch of Football Sports and Management students at Qingdao Preschool Education College could not be recruited through the separate enrollment exam. Most of the enrolled students were ordinary sports specialties without a football background. The resulting Qingdao Preschool Education College football team had sprinters playing as wingers and strong athletes playing defense. Just two and a half months after the team was formed, they participated in the Shandong Province "Governor's Cup" College Professional Group competition, facing traditional football powerhouses like Shandong Sport University and Qingdao University of Science and Technology.

Head coach Hou Zhiqiang had to devise a strategy more suitable for them: tight defense, aggressive pressing, and abandoning passing and possession. Essentially, they used running to compensate for their lack of football technical and tactical skills. Miraculously, in the first match of the "Governor's Cup" at home against Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao Preschool Education College won 4-3. At that time, Hou Zhiqiang remarked, "This isn't playing football; this is just chasing the ball and running like crazy."

Of course, football requires running like crazy, but if better basic technical and tactical abilities are combined, that is the true direction. Just one year later, in 2026, for the enrollment of the Football Sports and Management major, Qingdao Preschool Education College, with the support of the Shandong Provincial Department of Education, achieved separate enrollment (not the traditional football separate enrollment, targeting secondary vocational and social candidates) and comprehensive evaluation enrollment (targeting high school graduates).

Fujian Sports Vocational and Technical College, with support from the Fujian Provincial Department of Education, was approved for a five-year separate enrollment exam policy for the Football Sports and Management major, and the first batch of enrollment was successfully completed. Wuhan City Vocational College proactively approached the Hubei Provincial Department of Education to apply for separate enrollment qualification, obtaining an annual special separate enrollment plan for 30 students. In the first half of 2026, they completed the entire process of first-year separate enrollment, including registration, qualification review, and admission announcement, fully meeting the enrollment target. It must be noted that Wuhan City Vocational College's separate enrollment was aligned with the national unified sports training major football project's cultural exam and sports special exam scores for 2026; the school did not organize separate exams. In other words, the separate enrollment for higher vocational Football Sports and Management and undergraduate football sports majors was combined, providing students with a more comprehensive upward pathway. At this research meeting, all pilot colleges agreed that this is the core of improving the enrollment quality of football vocational colleges, and Wuhan City Vocational College's breakthrough is of great significance.

At this symposium, the Ministry of Education's Department of Vocational and Adult Education fully acknowledged the proactive breakthroughs in enrollment policies by Qingdao Preschool Education College, Fujian Sports Vocational and Technical College, and Wuhan City Vocational College, as well as the full support from their respective provinces.

Just as the core of youth training institutions lies in entry and exit points, football vocational education has achieved breakthroughs in the entry point (enrollment model) and has also made breakthroughs in one of the exit points, namely the articulation model.

In 2025, none of the pilot National Football Vocational Colleges had achieved the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation. Qingdao Preschool Education College came very close but ultimately failed due to time constraints. Just one year later, Qingdao Preschool Education College successfully realized the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation training with Shandong Sport University, enrolling 45 students in the first batch.

Qingdao Preschool Education College was the only pilot football vocational college in 2026 to achieve the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation system. This breakthrough is of significant demonstration value nationwide and is crucial for the construction of football vocational colleges. In addition, Xinjiang Sports Vocational and Technical College has reached an agreement with Xinjiang Normal University to promote the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation training model.

At this research meeting, all pilot colleges agreed that the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation training model not only provides students with higher-level graduation certificates but also, more importantly, represents a breakthrough in the talent cultivation model. Undergraduate colleges currently enroll football sports major students from high school, focusing primarily on theoretical knowledge. However, under the "3+2" higher vocational-undergraduate articulation system, students first acquire basic football theoretical knowledge in higher vocational education and, more importantly, gain stronger practical skills through hands-on teaching. They then enter undergraduate institutions with practical experience and problems, receiving higher-level theoretical learning (including practical teaching). This is essentially a model for cultivating composite talents.

At this symposium, the Ministry of Education's Department of Vocational and Adult Education and the General Administration of Sport's Department of Science and Education both emphasized the core goal of high-quality talent cultivation. All pilot colleges also focused their work around this goal. This was achieved through two main methods.

The first is the core of vocational education: enhancing practical skills through more extensive hands-on experience. Taking Qingdao Preschool Education College as an example, the national requirement is that practical teaching (including experiments, training, internships, graduation projects, etc.) in higher vocational colleges should account for no less than 50% of total class hours. One year ago, Qingdao Preschool Education College's practical teaching ratio had already exceeded 62%, and it continues to increase. Without practice, there is no right to speak; without practice, employment is naturally difficult. This is the core reason for the rising admission scores of higher vocational colleges. Qingdao Preschool Education College's admission score is now less than 50 points away from the undergraduate admission line (general category first segment). The minimum scores for popular majors have all exceeded the undergraduate line, and the highest scores are close to the control line.

Second, just as the key to youth football tournaments is to increase the number of high-level youth football competitions, the basic teaching and practical teaching of football vocational education need to be more specialized. This includes having excellent coaches, because all professional practice—especially in training coaches, teachers, and referees—depends on the students' own football level.

Qingdao Preschool Education College appointed Hou Zhiqiang, who trained national team players like Wei Shihao and Liu Yang, as vice dean and head coach. Li Jianlei, the head coach of the Chinese futsal national team, also joined the school. Hou Zhiqiang transformed a group of non-football-specialty students in just two and a half months, demonstrating the importance of professional ability, especially high-level coaches. At the "Centennial Famous School Cup," Qingdao Preschool Education College organized a team of high school graduates (i.e., new higher vocational students) to participate as hosts with a wild card, led by Li Jianlei. Despite having no prior collaboration and coming from different parts of Shandong, the students impressed everyone under Li Jianlei's guidance.