In Depth: Province’s Grassroots Soccer League Scores Consumption Goals

1. Chinese soccer has recently faced significant challenges, including the men’s national team's repeated failure to qualify for the World Cup, a wave of bans for match-fixing and gambling involving dozens of players and club officials, and revelations of widespread corruption through a documentary featuring former national coach Li Tie. These scandals have left fans disillusioned and have damaged the sport’s reputation nationally. [para. 1][para. 2]

2. Despite this negativity, a grassroots soccer league in Jiangsu province—the Jiangsu Football City League, popularly known as the “Suchao” or “Su-super” league—has sparked renewed interest and excitement among soccer fans. Launched on May 10 by the provincial sports authority and city governments, the league provides authentic, local rivalries and has successfully attracted tens of thousands of spectators to matches, revitalizing enthusiasm for the sport and helping lift local morale. [para. 3][para. 4]

3. The league’s structure, featuring 13 teams representing each of Jiangsu’s prefecture-level cities and composed mostly of amateur players, leverages the province’s uniquely favorable economic environment: Jiangsu boasts the highest GDP per capita among mainland Chinese provinces, and all participating cities are ranked among China’s economic top 100. This enables strong fan engagement, local spending on tickets and merchandise, and easy travel for fans given Jiangsu’s advanced infrastructure. Furthermore, the collapse of major professional teams such as Jiangsu FC created a void that Suchao is now filling, particularly given the cities’ longstanding rivalries which add to the competition’s appeal. [para. 5][para. 6][para. 7][para. 8][para. 9]

4. The league has embraced media and technology, with over 20 outlets, including a CCTV-affiliated streaming platform, broadcasting games, and social media contributing to viral moments and lively fan interactions. Corporate sponsorships from both national companies (e.g., JD.com, Xiaomi) and local enterprises are supporting each team, providing financial stability and commercial integration. [para. 10][para. 11][para. 12]

5. The economic benefits have been pronounced: The Jiangsu Sports Industry Group estimates the league could generate over 300 million yuan ($42 million) for the province in 2024. Data show a 5% year-on-year increase in air travel to Jiangsu, a 3% rise in hotel stays, with certain cities like Lianyungang and Changzhou seeing particularly strong growth. Major match weekends have coincided with spikes in tourism, ride-hailing service orders (up sixfold in some cases), and ticket sales for local attractions (increases up to 368% in Nanjing). Local consumption has surged as well, with out-of-town dining up 40%, and significant jumps (130–200%) in sales of regional food and drink. Sales of Suchao-branded merchandise have soared, with more than 30,000 items sold in two weeks and 80% purchased by consumers from other provinces. [para. 13][para. 14][para. 15][para. 16][para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20][para. 21][para. 22][para. 23][para. 24][para. 25][para. 26][para. 27]

6. Policy support has contributed to this momentum, following the example set by the viral “Cunchao” rural league in Guizhou. Recognizing the sector’s commercial and cultural potential, the State Council issued directives to promote such grassroots sports events as drivers of consumption and tourism, and several provinces—Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangxi—have since launched similar leagues. Despite the model’s success in Jiangsu, experts caution about replicability in less economically balanced regions. [para. 28][para. 29][para. 30][para. 31][para. 32][para. 33][para. 34][para. 35][para. 36]