World Soccer Culture Summit Forum opens in Zibo

The 1st World Football Culture Summit Forum opens in Linzi District, Zibo City, east China's Shandong Province on Oct. 23-24, 2016.

Experts and scholars from home and abroad, discuss topics involving football culture、football economy、football history and football education.

People's Government of Linzi District and Shandong Luneng Group Co., LTD sign cooperation agreement, establish strategic cooperative partnership and co-create the cultural brand for the world soccer origination place. Sun Jihai, the first Chinese player to score in the English Premier League and now Club Ambassador in China, is named as the ambassador of the Cuju cultural transmission .

Cuju was an ancient football game in China. It's a form of sport and entertainment which was influential in China for more than 2,000 years. In the Chinese language, "Cu" means "to kick" and "Ju" means "a ball made of leather".

Therefore, "Cuju" means kicking the ball with the foot. On July 15, 2004, Joseph Blatter, the FIFA president solemnly declared that football was originated in Linzi, Zibo, China.

In 2015, the National Football Museum in UK presented a copy of the first competition rules for modern world soccer to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a gift; Inreturn, Xi Jinping presented a cooper statue featuring Cuju to the museum and a cooper statue of a Cuju doll to Manchester City during Xi's visit.

Zhou Lianhua, mayor of Zibo City, believes: "The forum is a major achievement following Chinese president Xi Jinping's UK visit last year, as well as a significant forum to pass the Cuju culture and soccer development, ushering in a new era of cultural and educational exchanges between China and UK."

It is said that the second World Soccer Culture Summit Forum will be held in Manchester, the United Kingdom in 2017, meaning the two countries will take turn to host the event.