Kids nock a ball about at the Yangquan Sports Center in Yangquan city, on Aug 22. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

This year's Yangquan Football Public Welfare Day -- organized by Yangquan Football Association -- recently kicked off at Yangquan Sports Center in Yangquan city in North China's Shanxi province, with around 100 primary and middle school students attending.

The event is aimed at promoting football at schools and will last for two months, with activities scheduled at 8:30-10:00 and 16:30-18:00 each weekend.

Founded in 2002, Yangquan Football Association makes and implements development plans, guidelines and policies for the sport in the city.

It organizes, manages and operates football competitions at all levels, as well as trains and assesses football talent and manages football clubs in Yangquan.

The association has been promoting younth football in schools for years. It has held football competitions and training sessions at elementary, junior, and high schools for four consecutive years.

The body has established football teams in 10 schools in Yangquan in cooperation with Red Cross Society of China, which has trained many talented young people for Shanxi province, according to Zhen Wenbin, secretary general of the association.

Apart from backing young teams, the association has been boosting the popularity of playing soccer by the general public. It has established Shanxi Sairan Sports Industry Football Development Co and Longcheng Zhisheng Football Club to explore developing the sport in different ways.

Moving forwards, Zhen said the body would build a regional youth football training center in Shanxi with Longcheng Zhisheng Football Club and train a young coaching team to obtain the authorization of Chinese Football Association -- as well as developing the club into the first professional football club in the city.