Following the success of the 2025 Zhejiang Provincial Urban Basketball League (ZheBA), Zhejiang is now turning its attention to football—the world's most popular sport—to create another mass sports event that integrates sports with cultural and tourism activities. According to an announcement on December 21, the inaugural Zhejiang Urban Football League will soon kick off, with several cities already organizing qualifying matches.
The ZheBA, Zhejiang’s largest and highest-level grassroots basketball competition, began in early July and will run until February next year. The event consists of qualifying rounds and a city championship stage, with the group matches nearing completion and the knockout phase approaching. At the Zhejiang Provincial Economic Work Conference on December 20, Party Secretary Wang Hao emphasized the importance of deepening cultural and tourism integration, fostering new models, and ensuring the high-quality execution of events like the ZheBA.
The ZheBA has not only engaged the public in sports but also boosted local consumption, generating over 2.5 billion yuan in combined revenue for culture, tourism, commerce, and sports by the end of November. The event featured 275 cultural and tourism fairs with 8,306 stalls, generating 46 million yuan in direct sales. Additionally, "second viewing spots" in urban commercial areas attracted 65,000 spectators, increasing mall sales by 8.9%.
The upcoming Zhejiang Urban Football League will adopt the ZheBA’s successful model, maintaining a grassroots focus while promoting sports as a platform for cultural, tourism, and commercial activities. Like the ZheBA, the football league will have two stages: qualifying rounds organized by cities and a championship phase managed by the league committee, scheduled from mid-April to late July 2026.
Currently, 11 cities in Zhejiang are actively preparing, with three already launching their municipal leagues. Wenzhou’s Ouyue Football Championship started on December 6, Taizhou’s qualifiers began on December 14, and Lishui’s Super League commenced on December 20. Other cities, including Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Huzhou, are finalizing plans, with recruitment and preparations underway.
The league represents Zhejiang’s systematic approach to developing grassroots football, expanding participation, and improving amateur competition structures. The success of the ZheBA demonstrates how sports events can stimulate urban consumption, and the football league is expected to further energize public enthusiasm and boost local economies.
Zhejiang already hosts the Zhejiang Football Super League, which evolved from the provincial cup in 1991 and was restructured in 2016 as a club-based competition. Recognized as a national elite mass sports event in 2024, it operates under a government-led, club-driven, and market-oriented model.
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