China plans to include soccer as an index in evaluating a student's overall performance, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
The notice called on schools to build more soccer teams and recruit students with soccer skills.
The ministry encouraged schools to host soccer matches and said results of these matches will be integrated into the schools' overall evaluation.
China has proposed making soccer a mandatory subject from primary school and vowed to establish 50,000 special soccer schools by the year of 2025.
