Grassroots football in Shanghai achieved clear growth in 2018, according to a meeting of the district football associations in Shanghai organized at the end of December, 2018. 

Shanghai Football Association and 16 district football associations organized 105 grassroots football activities, 5173 football competitions, with 2382 football teams, 37866 players and 136077 participation. 

In addition to grassroots participation, football coach training improved as well. A total of 338 coaches at B, C and D levels were trained. For E-level coaches who look after football education and training for young people, 416 coaches were trained, which saw great improvements compared to 2015 (78), 2016 (116) and 2017 (144). 

Shanghai Football Association also disclosed the number of registered amateur football players. Among these registered football players, 5804 were amateur young football players (4350 male and 1454 female), which was 421 people more than 2017. A total of 935 registered as adult amateur players. 

The President of Shanghai Football Association, ZHU Guanghu, says that in 2019, each district should continue to raise the development of grassroots football in Shanghai. 

Reference: Wenhui Bao

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick