Football pitches available in all 74 county-level areas in SW China's Xizang

All 74 counties and districts in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region have built their own football grounds. (Photo/Tibet.cn)

Sitting at an average altitude of 4,300 meters, Zhaxizom township in Tingri county, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, is the nearest administrative township to Mount Qomolangma.

The football pitch at the township's primary school, which offers a distant view of the mountain, becomes the most lively part of the campus every Thursday afternoon when students gather here to play football.

"The students love playing football. It is the most popular sport among students when they choose to join hobby groups," said Puktse, a math teacher at the school.

"There are more than 50 students, both boys and girls, in the school's football hobby group," the teacher said.

Medog county in Nyingchi city, which is located in the southeastern part of Xizang Autonomous Region, has 10 football pitches despite the fact that the county seat and most villages under its jurisdiction are built on mountain slopes.

Football is one of the local children's favorite sports. The primary school in the county has made football education its main feature, having won championships three times in five football tournaments held in Nyingchi city.

"The school has a 20-person boys' football team, and in 2021 we established an 18-person girls' football team. Each class attends one football class a week," explained Ngawang Namgyel, the school principal.

"We've included football in the physical education classes of all schools and established football teams and football hobby classes there. Currently, all middle schools and primary schools in the county have their own football hobby classes and boys' football teams, and some schools have started to set up their own girls' football teams in the last two years," said Hu Zhibin, head of the education bureau of Medog county.

According to an official from the Sports Bureau of Xizang Autonomous Region, all 74 counties and districts in the autonomous region have built their own football grounds.