BEIJING — China has a total of 20,218 primary and middle schools featuring football education to spearhead campus football development, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Xu Zhen, deputy head of the sport, health and art education division of the MOE, said that football development is taking the lead in physical education reform and will boost the development of other ballgames and campus sports.

According to Xu, 102 counties or districts have been chosen as pilot locations and a four-tier football competition system has been set up.

In 2015, the MOE together with other five departments issued a guideline to encourage football development.

By 2020, some 20,000 schools should have courses on football, and the number should reach 50,000 by 2025, said the guideline.