A document to be released this week will detail the planned acceleration of the development of the Chinese sporting industry. At a State Council executive meeting on 2nd September 2014, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, research was commissioned into how the development of the sports industry can be accelerated, the results of which will be detailed in the aforementioned paper.The government has cast its eye towards the sporting industry with the hopes of enhancing the nation’s overall health and improving citizens livelihood aside from the economic factors of stimulating consumption and creating new domestic employment opportunities.
One of the beneficiaries of this recent push from the government is artificial grass producer CoCreation Grass (CCG). The Chinese company, which currently owns a 13 percent market share of the world’s artificial grass market and recently became the first Chinese company to be awarded the certificate of “FIFA Preferred Producer”, held a Global Partners and Industry Forum last Friday, 17th October, as part of the inauguration of their new factory.
Speaking at the forum, Mr Peng Xiao, Vice Chair of the Center of Sports Equipment of the State Sport General Administration of P. R. China, explained why the government is focusing on the sporting industry at this exact moment. “With the rapid economic development of the past decades, China has now reached a level of prosperity at which it is not just about making money any more. Now, once the people have reached a certain degree of material wealth, they begin to strive for spiritual wealth as well. A big factor for a spiritually fulfilled life is an active and healthy lifestyle, hence the potential of the sports market in the coming years is incredibly vast.” Especially in the growing urban environment, sports have witnessed a surge in popularity and importance.
This development could not have come at a better time for CCG, as rooftop sports pitches and indoor facilities are rising in number as a result of the Chinese quest for physical activity. With none of the drawbacks of real grass, i.e. maintenance, dependency on sunlight, seasonality and high sensibility, artificial grass is a clean and high-quality alternative, that is increasingly seeing application in high level international competitions.
Also speaking at the forum, Johannes Holzmüller, Group Leader the FIFA Quality Programme, suggested that the march to victory of artificial grass is far from over. “This year’s FIFA U20 World Cup was played entirely on indoor pitches with artificial turf and the undertaking has been a great success. In fact, there have been less injuries during this competition than in the previous years”. This suggests that aside from practicality, an additional element of safety exists with this product.
Holzmüller went on to say that “with 26 million people wanting to play football, the only possible way of providing them with a sufficient amount of pitches is artificial grass.”
In fact, in answer to the big question whether the world will soon see a FIFA World Cup play out on artificial turf, the football association’s representative sounded rather hopeful. “While this decision is not up to FIFA but rather to each host country of the tournament, we have no influence on whether traditional or artificial grass will be used. However, a majority of new football pitches are being installed with artificial grass, and so there will undeniably come a point in the future, when the competition will be played on an artificial surface.”
With a grin he adds “Who knows, this might happen when China hosts the World Cup.”
If Li Keqiang and CCG both keep up their current pace, that might be sooner than the world thinks.
