Official says soccer should have priority
BEIJING - When the daughter of the first sports department head of China proposed to recruit a soccer team made up of soldiers, a top official with the paramilitary police also gave legislators a plan meant to place a greater priority on the sport in China.
On the sidelines of the just-ended plenary session of the National People's Congress, Wang Hailiang, Party chief of Yunnan's Armed Police Force, suggested taking the next 20 to 30 years to rouse enthusiasm for the sport, add to the number of people playing it, encourage international exchanges of players and undertake an anti-corruption campaign.
More concretely, he proposed that playing the game be made compulsory for students in primary and higher schools. His goal is "to encourage people to love soccer more by making them more familiar with it".
