Chinese education authorities announced that they encourage and support eligible¹ universities' recruitment of students with soccer skills to form high-level soccer teams.

中国教育部宣布，他们将鼓励和支持符合条件的高校招收足球技能好的学生，组建高水平的足球队。

This appears to be the first time that the ministry² has highlighted soccer in its circular on recruiting students with special talent in art and sports, China West City Daily reported on Tuesday.

周二，中国华西都市报报道称，这是教育部招生方面第一次提出对有体育和艺术特长生的重视。

The statement, published on the official website of China's Ministry of Education (MOE) on December 22, said that the MOE encourages eligible universities to form high-level soccer teams through an existing separate track allowing students recruited for nonacademic talents to enroll³ with lower academic scores.

12月22日，这项声明公布在中国教育部的官方网站上。声明中称，教育部鼓励符合条件的大学为体育特长生招收开通特备通道，降低体育特长生的学科分数要求，组成高水平的足球队。

The statement also specified⁴ the maximum number of recruits and defined basic academic standards for them.

这项声明也对足球特长生招生人数限额和具体学科分数要求作出了详细规定。

"Previously⁵, it was hard for teachers in primary or secondary schools to encourage students to play soccer, as many universities had stopped recruiting students for their soccer skills. This statement paves the way for students to gain admission to their ideal universities through their talent in soccer," Ma Dexing, deputy editor of Changsha-based Titan Sports, told the Global Times.

《体坛周报》的副总编辑马德兴告诉环球时报说，“由于之前很多大学停止招收足球特长生，中小学老师很难鼓励学生踢足球。这项声明为拥有足球特长的学生进入理想大学打开了大门。”

Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China, began to recruit soccer players in March and was estimated to have admitted up to 12 of the 100 candidates it considered, following a 5-year suspension of recruitment, news site cnr.com reported in March.

中国顶端高等学府之一的清华大学在连续5年中断了特长生的招生后，今年3月恢复了招生，预计将从100名报名考生中录取12名考生。

The Global Times also learned that Peking University plans to recruit male soccer talents in 2016. A former Beijing-based university soccer player who asked to remain anonymous⁶ told the Global Times on Tuesday that in addition to receiving governmental support, players also expect university presidents to begin attaching greater importance to soccer on campus.

北京大学也计划在2016年招生足球特长人才。周二，一名北京某大学的退役足球运动员说道，除了获得政府的支持，足球运动员也希望大学校长能够在校园中加强对足球的重视。

As a soccer fan, Xi has repeatedly spurred China's footballers to step up. In August, the MOE announced a plan to include soccer in an index assessing students' overall performance and vowed⁷ to establish 50,000 soccer schools by the end of 2025.

作为一名足球粉丝，习近平主席一再强调要加紧足球运动员的培养。今年8月，教育部发布了一项计划称，足球技能将纳入考核学生综合素质的指数列表中，并争取到2025年底，中国将建立5万所足球学校。