Football field in Beijing would cost $58 mln: report  

北京标准足球场"损失"3.6亿 中国"玩不起"足球

在荷兰，每个业余足球俱乐部都有可供自己使用的场地，由当地政府超低价甚至免费提供。而在北京,一个100×60的标准足球场，造成不能盖房子的“损失”将达3.6亿元。我们玩不起足球，它太过奢侈。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- In the search for a reason why the most populous nation has failed to qualify for the ongoing World Cup in Brazil, Chinese media have attributed the failure to the commercialization of land resulting from skyrocketing property prices.

A report from Xinhua said that Holland, which has a population of only 16 million, has 3,300 football clubs, 90 percent of which are based in communities for 12 million registered soccer amateurs. Local governments provide land for the game for low prices or even for free, it added.

It is said that statistically one great footballer will emerge out of every 200,000 players. According to the figure released by the Chinese Football Association in 2011, China has only about 8,000 registered soccer players.

And building a football field in Beijing would be luxurious, the report also said, citing a standard field measuring 100 meters in length and 60 meters in width as an example.

With a price of 20,000 yuan ($3,227) per square meter, the land could cost 360 million yuan ($58 million) if it is zoned for residential use.

Even in a small town in China, where land prices are only one tenth of Beijing, people are reluctant to build football fields, as it could still cost tens of millions yuan.