On July 29, a Three-Year Action Plan for Youth Football Development in Lianyungang (2026-2028) was released at a press briefing at Lianyungang Sports Center. The plan aims to create a seamless football talent pipeline from primary school through to high school. Under this framework, each county (district) will develop a training system consisting of six local primary schools, three middle schools and one high school. Aside from designated schools, coordinated efforts at the municipal and county (district) levels will facilitate the establishment of a tiered league system to identify promising young players from local schools as talent reserves for higher-level competitions including the Jiangsu Football City League. Private football clubs will play their due part in the system too. The city also plans to construct over 150 football pitches and set up a professional football club, according to Sun Lin, Deputy Director of the Lianyungang Municipal Bureau of Sports.

The selection of U8-U18 players was initiated earlier this year, opening to all eligible young players across the city. Qualified players are now at summer camps for intensive training. In addition, the Lianyungang Youth Football Training and Development Center was officially inaugurated in April, marking another solid step forward in building student-athlete pipeline across all age groups.