International Journal of Education

As a key national football development city, Wuhan has actively explored the path of “integration of sports and education” in the field of youth football training, forming a youth football talent cultivation model with local characteristics. Taking Wuhan as the research object, this paper systematically reviews its practical exploration of the “integration of sports and education” in youth football training, including policy and institutional design, competition system construction, international cooperation introduction, and the building of pathways for further education. The study finds that Wuhan has established a three-dimensional youth training system characterized by “popularization of campus football — selection by district-level youth training centers — elite cultivation by professional clubs.” However, it still faces challenges such as insufficient event exposure, uneven quality of coaching staff, and imperfect incentive mechanisms. This paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions, including strengthening event promotion and publicity, improving the training systems for coaches and referees, enhancing incentive mechanisms, and deepening international cooperation, in order to provide a reference for the development of youth football training in other cities.

Youth football training; Integration of sports and education; Wuhan