China's first national football tournaments at the high school and university levels will be held in February or March in 2013, xinhuanet.com reported Tuesday.
Lu Yu, the vice director of the national office for campus youth football, said that the funds for the tournaments have been secured, totaling around 10 million yuan ($1.6 million).
Tournaments will be held in different cities throughout the country and regional winners will compete in the nation championships. As smaller cities have fewer universities, some regional groups will face off at the provincial level.
It is estimated that 500 high school teams and 300 university teams will participate.
Lu said the contests will serve to boost the level of football competition at all stages of academics, from primary school to university, which will yield better national football stars.
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