Loudi planning to make itself into soccer center

This summer, thousands of soccer fans from around the country visited Loudi, Hunan province, for national-level matches, bringing new life to the city in Central China.

In May and June, Hunan Billows played Shanghai Jiading Huilong and Henan Songshan Longmen in the Chinese Football Association Cup at the Loudi Sports Center.

On June 10, Hunan Billows beat Hainan Star, securing the team's first home win in the CFA's China League Two at the center.

On average, more than 15,000 people visited the center for each game, cheering for their team. To serve the fans well, authorities organized music, food, beer, camping and barbecue festivals, starting on May 24, to enrich the city's nightlife.

Hunan Billows' fan, Qing Bo, was excited. "I met many fans from other cities. We watched the soccer matches and drank beer together. What an amazing summer!" he said.

Zhou Zhi, a local restaurant owner, seized the opportunity to set up a stall at a night market near the center, where he sold 20,000 crawfish in one night.

It was not the first time Loudi had held big soccer matches because it hosted the First China-Africa Youth Football Tournament in 2019.

Teams from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya played opponents from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Shandong province and Loudi.

In recent years, the city has been promoting soccer development and striving to transform itself into a "soccer city". It has built 108 soccer fields and 13 soccer training bases, and trained more than 37,000 young players, 157 coaches and 258 referees. Currently, more than 1,000 young soccer players enjoy training sessions in the city.

Hu Jinhui, secretary-general of the Loudi Soccer Association, said that there is a big potential for the city's soccer economy as a result of the many matches, good infrastructure and the growing number of fans and players.

Zhu Qiang, vice-president of the Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology, said, "Loudi's move to organize festivals to go with soccer matches has boosted the residents' desire to participate in sports, created opportunities for physical exercise and ignited potential sports consumption."