Sipan Petrosyan (center) is coaching football to his students in Hangzhou
China Youth Football League was held in Hangzhou Huanglong Sports Center
Zhejiang Professional FC played home against Dalian Yingbo FC in CSL 2025 Photo: Xia Yang
Hangzhou Normal University’s football team is practicing
Hangzhou Football Academy has been established at Hangzhou Normal University
By Fang Jingyi Chen Miaolin
The third-stage match of the “FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition AFC Asian Qualifiers--Road to 26” between Team China and Team Australia is set to kick off on Mar 25 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium. This game also marks one of the final three matches for Team China in this critical stage.
Tickets for the match went on presale last Friday, and over 67,000 tickets sold out in under 15 minutes. The match is expected to set a new record for the highest attendance at a football match in China.
Football in Hangzhou is more than just competition. As a key city for football development in China, Hangzhou has not only hosted numerous high-profile events, including the Hangzhou Asian Games football events, but has also invested in talent cultivation, stadium construction, and infrastructure. With a comprehensive approach to the sport, football is set to become a defining feature of Hangzhou’s sports scene in 2025.
Hangzhou perfects professional and public football facilities
During Hangzhou Asian Games, the city hosted football matches across four venues: Huanglong Sports Center Stadium, Linping Sports Center Stadium, Shangcheng Sports Center Stadium, and Xiaoshan Sports Center Stadium.
Among these, Huanglong Sports Center Stadium, serving as the home ground for Zhejiang F.C. in the 2025 Chinese Super League, continues to draw countless fans cheering for their home team. Last weekend, the new season for women’s football kicked off with the Zhejiang Hangzhou Bank Women’s Football Team set to build on their home-field advantage at Linping Sports Center Stadium. At the same time, this venue has also become the home court for Hangzhou’s second professional team, Hangzhou Linping Wuyue F.C., which is scheduled to host 14 home matches in the 2025 China League Two.
In 2024, Hangzhou further enhanced its football infrastructure by adding 166 new fields, bringing the total to 1,476 across the city. Football fields at 43 public sports venues and 1,235 primary and secondary schools are now regularly open to the public, either for free or at a low cost.
In addition, Hangzhou is also building a world-class, 60,000-seat professional football stadium--the Yuhang International Sports Center. The stadium’s main structure has already been completed, and the entire project is set for completion in 2027, further cementing Hangzhou’s status as a leading football city in China.
More youth and players trained in Hangzhou
In 2024, over 23,000 students from nearly 1,600 teams participated in the Hangzhou Mayor’s Cup Campus Football League. As Hangzhou’s largest and highest-level school football competition, the league spans all age groups, from kids to high school students, ensuring that every football-loving child in Hangzhou is entitled to the chance to compete. With this event, 24 schools have established a joint education model with the city’s professional team, providing talented young footballers with a conducive environment for further education.
Hangzhou is also exploring a collaborative model between the government and universities to cultivate local players. In 2024, Hangzhou Normal University established the Hangzhou Football Academy, which is set to enroll its first 25 football-focused students in 2025. The goal of the Academy is to develop a new generation of highly skilled, experienced, and research-oriented football educators for primary and secondary schools. Additionally, the university will leverage its National Sports Training program to offer high-quality undergraduate education for professional athletes.
The Hangzhou Football Academy has recently signed a partnership agreement with the Samaranch Foundation, committed to youth football development in China by training football educators and fostering players. Moving forward, Hangzhou Normal University also aims to establish exchange programs with universities and clubs in football powerhouses like Argentina and Spain, actively integrating into Hangzhou’s youth football talent overseas training program.
Foreign coach aims to cultivate young talents for Hangzhou
Sipan Petrosyan from Armenia, a former professional player turned coach in Hangzhou, has transformed his passion into a mission: nurturing youth football players and fostering cross-cultural connections. After a career cut short by injury, Sipan earned UEFA A/B licenses and dedicated 11 years to coaching, driven by his belief that football transcends sport--it builds character, community, and lifelong values.
Collaborating with the Hangzhou government, Sipan introduced football programs in public schools, ensuring accessibility for children across the city. In 2024, he launched his academy in Binjiang district, blending rigorous training with life lessons. His curriculum emphasizes teamwork, respect, and friendship, tailoring approaches to individual needs--strict guidance for some, gentle encouragement for others. Weekends at his academy buzz with laughter as 6-12-year-olds master skills through drills, while parents praise his ability to instill confidence in the young players.
Beyond the pitch, Sipan leverages social media to promote football culture, sharing instructional videos. His efforts culminated in the groundbreaking Mini World Cup Hangzhou 2025, set for Apr 5 at T9 Stadium. This free, international tournament unites teams on 3G artificial turf, complete with professional referees and interactive fan activities. By integrating Chinese and foreign players, Sipan aims to build a “sports family” that celebrates diversity.
“Football is a universal language,” Sipan says. His vision--to create a vibrant, inclusive community through sport--is also what other like-minded people are doing to make Hangzhou more compatible with the sport of football.