A record crowd of more than 28,000 witnessed Suzhou teenager Kou Cheng lift the 2025 Jiangsu Governor's Cup on Wednesday night, capping a landmark event that underscored the province's massive strides in developing youth soccer over the past four decades.

The young athlete accepted the trophy from Governor Xu Kunlin.

On the same day, the Jiangsu Provincial Symposium on High-Quality Development of Campus Football concluded at Suzhou Xujiang Experimental Middle School, less than two kilometers from the stadium.

Experts, scholars, grassroots coaches, sports administrators, and school principals gathered for in-depth discussions on Jiangsu's campus soccer system, its educational function, and its future.

Forty-two years ago, only about one in every 600 primary and secondary schools in the province had restored their soccer programs.

Today, Jiangsu has established 376 national soccer-focused kindergartens and 2,785 soccer-focused schools, ranking among the top in China.

Wang Jiahong, chief expert of Soochow University's Dongwu Think Tank and dean of the Jiangsu Sports and Health Industry Research Institute, said: "The pathway to professionalization remains obstructed. The delivery of promising young soccer talent to professional clubs is hindered. Deep cooperation between schools and professional clubs is needed to establish youth training bases."

Ma Ning, an international soccer referee, said: "Short-term soccer success relies on star players, medium-term development hinges on youth training and league standards, and long-term prosperity rests on soccer culture and institutional systems."

"Only by integrating sports culture and football culture into every household can children enjoy playing the game purely and happily," added Ma.