More provinces across China roll out football leagues to boost tourism

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  Here is the news.

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  Following the outsized success of Jiangsu's grassroots Suzhou Football League in May,

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  More regions are looking to replicate the eastern province's winning formula.

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  Northern China's Hebei province is the latest to do so,

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  launching what is billed as China's first provincial home-and-away five-a-side football league for the general public.

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  The tournament, dubbed by organisers as the People's Football League,

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  kicked off on August 10th in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and runs through until April next year.

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  Over the coming months, around 14 teams from across the province will take part in the tournament.

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  Each team can have up to 50 players, with the oldest applicant so far being 50 years old.

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  to be more amateur-friendly than the better-known Jiangsu League,

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  which allows up to three professional players per team.

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  In the knockout playoffs, however, each Hebei team may recruit up to two foreign players.

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  to enhance competitiveness and entertainment value.

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  Tourism promotion is unabashedly the league's primary goal.

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  Instead of hosting all fixtures at one location,

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  as is usually the case with five-a-side competitions,

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  Herbe has adopted a home-and-away format to extend the tournament and provide each city the opportunity to draw crowds.

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  Plans also include invitational matches between the eventual Herbe champions against top teams from the Jiangsu League,

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